


The Chains of Lilith

by unloyalbish



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: A bit biblical?, Demons, Gay Panic, M/M, No Beta, Panic Attacks, Reincarnation, The boys fly, There's gore, They also run A LOT, This is a reincarnation au, We Die Like Men, and lots of blood, nobody is straight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:42:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 33
Words: 66,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21816844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unloyalbish/pseuds/unloyalbish
Summary: A thousand year old tale is about to repeat itself with the resurrection of Lilith. God once again called his chosen heroes. Will their story end the same bitter way like before or will they finally have the sweet ending they deserve?
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Chwe Hansol | Vernon, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Yoon Jeonghan, Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Lee Seokmin | DK, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 55
Kudos: 90





	1. The Astral Archive

**Author's Note:**

> hi so this fic is cross-posted at aff so if you happen to see one with the same title it's just the same. This is also my first fic in this site.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come and meet the Cloud Denizens. They are the residents of the astral realm.

**Cloud palace - Astral archives**

' _It was believed that thousands of years ago a demon beast, the most evil and vicious of her kind roamed the lands. She goes by the name Lilith and has destroyed thousands of families by killing mothers and infants alike._

_She continued her slaughter of the human kind for a hundred thousand years until God decided that he had enough of Lilith's wrongdoings and blessed thirteen courageous men with strength and special powers to trap the said beast in an enchanted chain._

_The thirteen men fought Lilith with all their might and strength coming out as the winners of the bloody battle. They have successfully trapped the demon beast by shattering her soul into thirteen pieces placing each of them inside 13 magical gem stones which were attached to the chain._

_Peace was restored all over the land, but winning the fight came with a price. Thirteen might be their number in the beginning but only three were left to tell the tale._

_The three survivors, with weakened physiques and heavy hearts from the loss of their loved one's and comrades vowed to make sure that Lilith will never walk the land ever again and planned to destroy the stones on the chain._

_They spent 10 days and nights finding ways on how to destroy Lilith completely. But even with her soul shattered, the demon was too hard and powerful to eradicate._

_Out of desperation, the three decided to exhaust every power that they have and hit the stones with all they have._

_But alas, not even one had a scratch. After expelling too much power and energy the three lied limply on the dusty ground waiting for life to finally drain out of their bodies. As they were heaving their last breaths a bright light descended upon them. They smiled and nodded as if the light was talking to them._

_And as the light disappeared so was their lives.'_

Jeonghan hummed as he closed the book. It was an old dusty book with yellow pages and covered in leather. It didn't even have a name. But for some strange reason, Jeonghan remembered it so well. 

He was 14 when he found that book. The young Jeonghan was looking for a scripture that will explain to him thoroughly the differences between Cloud Denizens like him to the Middle Grounders and Nether Dwellers.

"Are you seriously reading that book again?" Jisoo, Jeonghan's dearest friend walks up to him gracefully. His pinkish blonde hair bouncing with radiance gave him a softer and sweeter glow though it dimmed a little because of the knowledge that his best friend is reading the same sad story again.

"It's a good book Jisoo, you can't blame me" Jeonghan only chuckled as the frown displayed on his best friends face becomes more evident.

"I will never understand why you take pleasures in reading such sad stories when there are thousands of other books all with happy endings." Jisoo commented, frown still visible in his delicate features.

"But anyways I came here to drag you out of this place, Seungkwan is about to turn the whole Astral realm upside down and shake it if he still doesn't see you." Jeonghan only nodded and looked directly at his best friend as if expecting him to say more. He was twirling his long silver locks with a tinge of lavender waiting for Jisoo to spat it out.

"Alright! So other than Seungkwan needing help for his flower crown, I also need your opinion about my hair" Jisoo finally gave in sassily, even rolling his eyes as he speak. 

"As I guess so" Jeonghan replied in a sing sang tune as he placed the old book back to it's shelf.

"Seungkwan trust me, I am your brother. Those yellow roses look good on you." Jeonghan has both of his hands on his hips as he struggles to convince his younger brother that he looked best with the flower crown of yellow roses.

"I trust you hyung, I just want to make sure that I look perfect during the blood moon festival." The younger responded with guilt laced in his voice.

"I know brother, I understand. And as I can see, you look perfect right now." Jeonghan sweetly smiled and patted Seungkwan's back to make sure that his point goes through. His brother did looked amazing, with his flower crown of yellow roses matched the golden embroidery on his suit while the his bluish silver hair softly contrast it all. Not to mention that his red chubby cheeks are a bit redder than usual made him look adorable beyond words.

"Yes Seungkwan, you look amazing." Jisoo also supplied with a sweet smile.

"But I still look awful and I need both of your help here. We only have about an hour before the carriages arrive and I can't afford to look tragic." Too much fuss from the eldest son of the noble house of Hong.

**Cloud Palace - in front of the heavenly Yoon manor**

"Wow Jisoo hyung you look amazing!" Seokmin the youngest son from the noble house of Lee boldly stated as he stared at Jisoo.

"Seokmin close your mouth will you? I do not want to see your insides glowing from swallowing a firebug just because you gaped to hard." Jihoon the eldest son of the noble house of Lee snickered as his brother choked through air. The Lee's both sharing the same golden locks looked absolutely stunning with a eucalyptus crown added with small colorful flowers at the top of their heads. They were both wearing white from head to toe just like any Cloud denizen but just by looking at them you will feel the regal flowing from their auras.

"Shall we get going then? I really do not want to miss the warriors play this year." Jisoo suddenly said to divert the attention away from him and Seokmin.

"Oh really? The warriors play? Not the promise dance?" Jeonghan playfully asked while Jisoo glared at him.

"Oh this will be a very eventful night!" Seungkwan exclaimed as he jumped inside the carriage.

Little did they knew that it indeed will be a very eventful night the whole of humanity.


	2. The Blood Moon Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> our friends from the middle ground are here to join.

**Middle Ground - The Crystal Meadow**

"Hyung you're late." Minghao a tall, slender boy with a slightly long auburn hair and the only heir to the noble house of Xu glared at Wen Junhui. The said boy has been waiting for the older for almost quarter an hour now right beside the entrance of the crystal meadow. A few cloud denizens and nether dwellers have been giving him strange looks and a few concerned middle grounders dared asked the young noble out of concern and curiosity as to why he was standing there all alone for quite sometime now. They were supposed to enter the festival grounds together like they would usually do, but this time Junhui is way more late than he's used to.

  
"As expected. Remind me later to ask myself why did I even thought that you would come on time for once in your life?" Minghao continued with a huff. He should have ditched Jun and entered the festival grounds himself instead of waiting for him. He didn't want to be late and leave a bad impression to the other nobles, it was a very important gathering after all. 

The blood moon festival is an annual festivity where they celebrate Lilith's defeat and the 13 heroes who are the ancestors of the 9 noble families.

  
"Oh my dear Minghao, I know you are upset" Junhui, the eldest son of the noble Wen's paused and snickered as he heard his younger friend mumble a barely audible "obviously" under his breath. "But hear me out." He continued, his dark brown locks bouncing as he skipped in front of the glaring boy.

"I, for the first time in my 23 years of existence actually came early. Then I thought that it would be best that I surprise you. So, to commemorate such event, I decided to look for a present." Jun paused as he swing his right arm and enveloped Minghao's shoulder, subtly dragging the glaring boy to the entrance of the open field. 

"Here look" he reached out to his side pocket and handed the younger a small brown box. Minghao slowly opened the box and after seeing the content, his glare turned into a small smile. 

"I knew you would like it. It reminded me of you when I saw it." Jun comments as he took the present out of the box. It was a simple silver bracelet with a lone red dahlia in the middle. Its petals are made of rubies making it shine brighter in the middle of the glowing meadow. 

"Wear it" he said, as he coax the younger to stretch his right arm so that he can wrap the bracelet to the youngers wrist.

Minghao's soft thank you was almost unheard when Chan, the youngest son of the Noble Kwon's came running to them. His light brown hair sticking on his forehead due to sweat.

"Hyungs where have you been?" The breathless boy asked, catching his breath in the process. 

"The play is about to start! Soonyoung hyung said that you should hurry up and sit beside him because anytime longer and he might go blind". Seeing the confusion written on his hyungs faces, the youngest explained that his older brother is sat next beside the Cloud denizens and their white clothes and light hair color is blinding him. Apparently, they were needed to dim down the place a little bit since the gloomy auras of the nether dwellers did not quite reach him.

Laughing at their friends unrealistic complaint, the three ran their way to the makeshift open theater.

As nobles, they always have a their own special seats. The nine noble families of the 3 realms, although different from one another tries to get along in order to sustain peace, balance and happiness. 

The Head of each family together with their other halves are sat next to each other while their children are seated right behind them.

Today, Soonyoung is seated right beside the eldest son of the Lee's. Lee Jihoon, if Soonyoung is not mistaken. Jihoon is a short man with fair skin and golden locks with a tinge of red in the tips. He has blue eyes just like any cloud denizen but a bit darker since he is a noble.

Sitting right next to him made Soonyoung nervous, for the man exude such an intimidating aura. It seemed like the other man is glowing while here he is with his light brown hair and green eyes wearing an assortment of different animal furs in varying shades of brown just like all the other middle grounders.

He can't help but feel like twig placed right next to a crystal. A glowing crystal to be exact.

"Hey Soonyoung can you still see us? Junhui asked as he takes a seat right beside Chan.

The other rolled his eyes while answering a short "fortunately" and did the unique hand shake that he and Junhui did after their first sparring together.

"Where have you been?" Soonyoung loudly whispered as the drum-roll for the play resonated allover the stadium. 

"I'll explain to you later. For now let's just watch the play." Junhui replied and pointed right in front of them. Soonyoung nodded as he can feel the seriousness laced in the olders voice.

The play started like it usually would. The actress playing as Lilith jumped all around the stage, flapping her wings as she gathered all the women and children that she can see in every town the she happens to pass by. Magic is used to enhance the realness of the play and as it reached the finale and the blood moon reaching it's peak in the night sky, a burst of different colors representing the colors of the stones from the chain where the soul of Lilith is trapped lighted up the entirety of the makeshift theater.

The people were ready to applaud.

But as the whole place lighted up, a deafening screech of an owl was heard. Seconds later another one was heard, followed by another, and another, and another until hundreds of them screeched in the middle of night all together. Little children started crying while the older ones started to visibly shiver on their seats. Everybody was on edge, confusion and nervousness all etched in their faces.

One of the noble nether dwellers gasped, face paling as he looked directly at the moon. Soonyoung followed the direction that he was looking at. His blood run cold and he froze at his feet.

There covering the moon was the nightmare of humanity. Looking at them with her glowing purple eyes, a sinister smile was plastered on her face. Her feathery wings of pure darkness is in full display and the little streaks of light seeping out behind her made her look even more demonic. Soonyoung felt how his legs started to turn into jelly.

Then, everything went silent as Lilith laughed in midair. 


	3. The Beast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all meet the rest of the gang..

**Middle Ground - Crystal Meadows**

Hansol couldn't help himself from gasping as he saw how the moon dimmed and a silhouette of a voluminous winged woman appeared on thin air.

"Ah humans! I have longed to see you all!" Lilith greeted as if she was seeing old dear friends.

"Did you all missed me just like I do? Or is this longing only felt on my end?" The demon had the audacity to wipe her non-existent tears. Then in a fraction of a second her expression of mock grief turns into pure anger and disgust.

"You have no idea how it ached me to think that I was trapped and bounded for a long time by such weak pathetic creatures."

Now brushing her golden hair with a bored face, she continued, "As frightened as you all are a thousand years ago, I never would have thought you had the guts to raise up against me." She paused and heaved a breath.

"It was foolish of me to ignore such possibility of it, it really was." She continued, shaking her head right to left. Mock grief evident in her face and tone yet again.

"But fear not! Or should I say fear more!" The demon suddenly cried full of excitement.

"For I, Lilith will raise again! and this time I will make sure that you will all bow down to me as you shiver in fear and dread. You will cry my name as I slaughter your women and children right in front of you while I turn you all into my slaves!"

Another bout of shrill laughter was heard.

"So, remember this day humans. The day where you celebrate your triumph from my defeat is the mark of my unstoppable return!"

"Be gone demon! You cannot fool us anymore!" Junghwan, a cloud denizen and head of the noble Yoon's flapped his pristine white wings and flew up in the air. His dark blue eyes glowing under the red light.

"We can still feel you wriggling inside the stones looking for a way to break out." Kim Minhyuk head of the noble Kim's spoke as he ascended to the air, following the actions of Choi Seunghoon and Jeon Dongho. Both heads of the noble nether families Choi and Jeon.

"Please stop this nonsense demon and accept your fate. You will never walk in this world ever again." Hong Jisung head of the noble Hong's added as he slowly raised his hands, ready to cast the usual binding spell to keep the demon in her place.

"Ha! My my, I'm quite impressed you've figured it out. You're not really as foolish as you all used to be, yet you are only quite right though. Yes, I'm still bound inside those stupid stones. But let me remind you all that it is not only me who wishes for my freedom. For my children, my beloved children who suffered and grieved for their mother for a thousand years shall rise from the pits of hell and set me free!"

"Enough and go back to where you belong!" Mingxi, head of the noble Xu's replied to the angered demon.

Each head of the family held hands encircling the demon between them. Lilith started to scream and hiss as she thrashes helplessly when a magical golden chain encircled her figure. Her blood red wings crushed, feathers falling and disintegrating in thin air from the sheer tightness of the chain. Her mock tears turning real as her pearly white skin burn from where the magical binds touch.

"This is not the end! For I Lilith will come back and have my vengeance!" Lilith's voice slowly faded into the night sky as the heads finish reciting the incantation.

People started to breathe again the moment Lilith vanished, but just as they thought everything was fine, numerous deafening screeches were heard.

It was the same shrilling noise before Lilith appeared in the night sky.

"We should gather all our men and get the people out of here quickly" Seungcheol heard his father suggest.

"I agree but where do we keep the people safe until we finish dealing with them?" Dealing with who? Seungcheol doesn't know and at this moment he might to not want to know if it's the same kind of demon as Lilith.

"To the bunks, it's right at the edge of the meadow and it's big enough to keep them safe until we're done." One of the middle grounder noble replied but Seungcheol couldn't keep track as the screeching became louder and closer. He can see his brother together with their other nether friends Wonwoo the eldest son of the noble Jeon's and Mingyu the lone son of the noble Kim's hanging their heads low. Both of their hands covering their ears.

********

Each head of the noble families rounded up their most trusted men and instructed them to gather and take the people out and keep them safe inside the bunks as fast as they can. Wonwoo heard the head of the Lee clan send his younger son to the bunks to help supervise and protect all the citizens. He was to be assisted by the youngest Yoon, Kwon and Hansol. Together with them as well is the only heir of the Hong's, his main concern is to heal any injured. It made sense, since the Hong's are known for their unparalleled healing abilities. The four whipped their wings and flew to help the soldiers.

Wonwoo's line of thought was disrupted as another bout of screeches were heard. He was trying to figure out what his father was looking at. His father was still up in mid-air, his bat like wings shining under the red moonlight. He's hovering at the top together with Mingyu's father, they were looking for something and they looked clearly unnerved. Then his father’s hand suddenly shoots up in the air as if to signal something, this clearly took the attention of the other nobles that was looking at them intently.

A deafening screech was heard and this time it was so close that he felt the ground tremble. Along with the screech came out a gruesome creature. With wide black eyes and grimy feathers. It looked like a bird. But instead of it having a beak, it had sharp rows of teeth. It looks utterly terrifying and he might have stumbled on his feet if not for Mingyu grabbing him by the shoulder.

The creature flapped its wings and attacked, but before it reached anybody a glowing bow struck it straight on the head. The creature thrashed in pain as it fell to the ground but just as Wonwoo was about to sigh in relief numerous monsters came out behind the trees and started attacking.

********

Everything was on chaos as different beast sprung out of nowhere. Things were getting bloody as everybody took their weapons out to fight. Seungcheol saw how Mingyu's left eye glowed. The noble’s sigil on one eye glowing a little brighter. He pulled out his burning lance from it and threw it to a half-bird half-serpent beast. Summoning his sword out of his sigil on his wrist, Seungcheol whipped his wings and jumped at the back of a lizard like monster, slitting its throat in the process. Blood was sprayed on his trousers as the monster desperately catch for air but he couldn't care less as another creature charged right at him.

********

Seungcheol was running out of breath as he struggled hard to finish the beast in front of him. Everything was either destroyed or is a complete bloody mess, even the ground is slippery from all the bloodshed. That fact alone made it hard for him to move. As he was catching his breath readying himself to help the young Xu, he was abruptly pushed to his left. Taken off guard, the nether dweller stumbled on his feet and landed on a carcass of a dead beast. Ready to retaliate. Thinking that it was just another monster he prepared himself to charge at the enemy. He was abruptly stopped by his own feet though as he realized it was no monster who pushed him but the eldest son of the Yoon's.

"You alright there?" The eldest Yoon was always praised for his beautifully handsome features. His delicate face and long silver locks had men and women alike worship the land he walks. He was a soft-spoken lad just like any cloud denizen and loves to spend his days reading books. So, seeing the said man who was covered in pure white from head to toe moments ago walk to him casually. Drenched on blood as if he was bathing on it got him frozen.

The said man offered him a hand to help Seungcheol back up to his feet. Seungcheol unconsciously took it and nodded as a form of reply from the question asked to him earlier. Jeonghan only replied a short good and swiped his thumb on Seungcheol's left cheek, healing the small cut on his unmarred face.


	4. The Bunks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of Verkwan for all verkwan shippers out there.

**Hansol - Middle Ground - The Bunks**

"Give me your hand little one" Hansol heard the youngest Yoon say to a sobbing child. He can identify the little kid as a middle grounder because of his green hair and brown eyes. Judging from the situation, the little boy got lost in between all of the commotion and was left crying on the middle of the path. The small child slowly stretched his limbs and the silver haired man took him carefully in his arms and hoisted him up in the air.

  
"Tell me what your parents look like and we'll go find them" the youngest Yoon continued to ask the small boy with an affectionate smile on his face. With a sniffle, the child did his best to describe his parents and it took all of Hansol's strength to not coo at the sight and focus at the task in hand.   
It took a few moments before the silver haired cloud denizen swooped down to a couple, bringing the child with him.

  
When he came back, he was all by himself.

  
"Are you feeling alright lord Choi?" Hansol tenses at the question. He was trying so hard to not look at the silver haired man that he didn't know he was looking like he twisted his wings.

  
"Uh yes-yes, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern lord Yoon" Hansol stuttered, averting his gaze to observe the last batch of people that were entering the bunks.

  
They were ushering the people to get inside safely and Hansol couldn't contain himself from sighing in contentment that there are only a few mops of black, green and blonde locks. This means most of the people from the three realms are safe.

  
"Hummm, well just tell us if you're not feeling well. I am sure we can help you." The cloud denizen paused for a second and continued by introducing himself.

  
"By the way my name is Seungkwan. Yoon Seungkwan. I'm not quite sure if we had the chance to introduce our selves before this chaos started, though I'm really sure most of us haven't." Seungkwan offered his hand for a shake, a sweet smile resting on his face.

  
"Ha-hansol, Choi Hansol." Seungkwan giggled as Hansol stuttered while taking Seungkwan's hand for a firm shake.

**Chan - Middle Ground - The Bunks**

A few meters ahead, Chan was looking at the two hovering figures of the youngest children from the main family of the Yoon and Choi seemingly shaking hands for quite a while now. It was weird for him but then again, he was not that well versed with both of their cultures.

  
A few more seconds and the said boy decided that he should look around the bunks and check if there's anyone who is injured or generally needs assistance.

  
Before he can do that though, he suddenly heard a familiar screech. It sounded the same as the one he heard from the crystal meadow earlier and in just a quick flash, the two older cloud denizens whom he believed to be the nobles Hong Jisoo and Lee Seokmin suddenly flew above him.

  
He watched in awe as the sweet looking Jisoo with his pinkish blonde hair briskly donned an unforgiving look. His features cold and his eyes now a deeper shade of blue that, for some reason lost the warmth and kindness it used to ooze out moments ago for the common people.

  
The said man then started to pull out his weapons from his back where his noble sigil lies. The sigil started to glow white and two sickle swords that looked like a mixture of a long sword and an axe started to appear as Jisoo pulled it out gracefully like he was pulling a normal knife out of its scabbard.

  
Young Chan was nervous but still in awe, he was inexperienced in fighting but it never failed to amaze him how rightful nobles like him have the ability to store their soul weapons inside their bodies. He admires as well people who can summon their weapons and pull them out of their bodies like it was as normal as breathing. Chan himself still has difficulties in pulling out his dagger axe out of his palms but his working on it.

  
Right beside Jisoo was Lee Seokmin, whom he saw earlier give out a smile as bright as the sun while he carried a heavily pregnant middle grounder who was having a hard time walking her way to the bunks.

  
The said man was now lowly growling, deep blue eyes shining under the red moonlight. He looked so determined to kill, like a feral beast suddenly possessed him. He even looked more threatening as he started to pull out two circular blades out of his back.

  
The said weapons looking like misplaced halos as they gleam under the red moonlight.   
Chan was now starting to wonder if swiftly changing one’s demeanor was something that usually happens to cloud denizens. Because he was sure he never saw his older brother or his Junhui and Minghao hyung like that. Sure, their eyes turned greener when they feel in danger and they too pulled their weapons out of their bodies through their sigils, but his Soonyoung hyung still smiled at him and Jun would still crack a lame joke in the middle of killing a beast while Minghao will never miss an opportunity to smack the older in the process.

  
Albeit nervous, the young Kwon tried his best to concentrate as well. Looking around for something that will impose danger to the people inside the bunks while slowly summoning his battle axe out of his right palm.

  
Glancing around he saw the younger Choi and Yoon who were previously hovering in mid-air while shaking hands now in full battle stance. As expected, the warm smile from the silver haired Yoon was now gone and replaced by a stone-cold mien. His stare looked unforgiving and honestly if he was the one on the receiving end of it, he might have shivered right on the spot.

  
Chan watched as the silver haired man pulled out two battle axes from his abdomen without even flinching. Once the said weapons are out, the younger Yoon whipped the axes in the air in circular fluid motions then held it tightly, still donning a stoic face.

  
The flapping leathery wings of the noble Choi did not as well ease the menacing look the two had. The younger Choi's glowing red eyes are a shade deeper than the moon, matching the fire that wrapped the huge mace that he summoned out of his sigil which was also located on his abdomen.

  
Chan wanted to admire the scene but he was halted from his fawning when another bout of screeching was heard. The young Kwon then suddenly felt something. It was dark, wicked, dangerous and it gave a hard jolt in his stomach that he almost puke.

  
"They're near" he unknowingly announced to no one in a hushed voice and wide eyes.  
"Secure the entrances, make sure none of these beasts breach the bunks we want the people safe" Jisoo firmly commanded to the head of the guards.

  
"And lord Kwon, get yourself together." The silver haired Yoon looked down to him and smiled sweetly, patting his back as he started to dive down to the deep forest.

  
"Seokmin hyung bet you I'll be able to slit more heads than you do" Seokmin only snickered and equally shouted a "YOU WISH!" back at the said man.

  
"Do not mind them, they've just been spending too much time with Jihoon. If you're scared going on your own you can come with me." Hong Jisoo looked down at him. His sweet persona back in his body. Chan can only nod, to overwhelmed by the situation. The young Kwon hastily stretched his pair of brown wings and flew to the older man.

  
"I'm Jisoo by the way. A Hong, nice to meet you." Jisoo introduced himself, a sweet smile plastered on his face while he offered his hand for a shake.

  
"Kwon Chan, it is a pleasure to meet you lord Hong." Chan took his hand hesitantly.

  
"No need for such formalities Chan, you can just call me Jisoo hyung. Are you ready?" Asked Jisoo.

  
"I-I am actually quite nervous, Ji-jisoo hyung." Chan answered with his head bowed.

  
"Is this your first time encountering and fighting beasts?" Jisoo continuously queried.

  
"Encountering no, but fighting them, well, kind of. I'm usually just for support when the hyungs go out for missions. And it's not all the time that they take me with them." Jisoo only nodded at Chans reply.

  
"Well just stick near me alright, we'll get out of this" and with a flash Jisoo's sweet demeanor changed back to deadly as he spotted something beneath them.

  
As Chan descended to follow Jisoo inside the thick forest, the first thing that greeted him when he was less than a meter away from the older man was an unexpected splatter of green blood on his face. Then the image of Jisoo bathing in green as he gracefully sundered the limbs of whatever monster he was fighting. How he does it with elegance, Chan doesn't know. All he knows is that in a matter of seconds that thing will be back to hell.

  
"Chan, finish it" Jisoo said as he threw the body of a screeching bird like monstrosity to the shocked boy. Chan only stared.

  
"Just poke it hard with the sharp end of your weapon to the heart or to the head." Jisoo encourage, and so Chan obeyed. Stabbing the monster over and over again until it was lying motionless on the ground.

  
"You're doing great Chan now will you help me with this one?" And Chan did. He helped Jisoo kill the beasts. He helped Jisoo until he was bathing in a mixture of not only green blood but also red, black, blue and more. He helped Jisoo kill them until they started to vanish from his sight.


	5. The Unison

**Minghao - Middle Ground - Crystal Meadow**

Minghao was running out of strength, they have been fighting these gruesome creatures for quite some time now but for some reason there seems to be no end of them. With a practiced jump and twist, the said man curled the chain of his nunchakus at a half-serpent half-lion beast chocking it till its death.

  
Just after finishing the beast, another one popped up on his peripheral and with another expert spin Minghao stabbed the beast right on its forehead and injected a special poison through the secret blades hidden in the handles of his weapon. With immediate pain cruising through the veins of the demon beast, it started thrashing all over the place.

Minghao's weapon was still deeply buried on the demon’s head. So, when the beast thrashed, this time way more violently, the said man was thrown over.

Expecting to fall harshly on the dry ground, the said man readied himself for the fall.

Except he fell to the arms of a familiar man.

  
The arms of Wen Junhui.

  
"Careful Hao" blinking, Minghao saw Junhui's face. The annoying smirk that the younger thought to be permanent on the older face was now gone and was replaced with a grimace.

His green eyes, now a shade darker is filled with so many emotions Minghao couldn't figure out the most prominent one.

  
"Thank you hyung" Jun only hummed in response.

  
"Just promise me to be careful" the older then added with a firmer voice, his right hand on the youngers left cheek.

Minghao's eyes was trained to him. He was clearly not pleading for assurance from the younger man but was commanding it from him.

  
"I promise." Minghao took hold of the hand that was resting on his face, squeezing it gently as he lowered it down.

  
There was always something unspoken between him and Junhui. Behind the stolen glances and sweet smiles, the unintentional hugs and personal gifts. Their stupid fights that will only last a few minutes because none couldn't really get mad at each other.

  
There was always something, but that can wait. Especially at this moment. So, with a genuine smile and a quick "be careful as well" he ran back to the chaos, this time with much energy.

**Wonwoo - Middle Ground - Crystal Meadow**

"Hyung!" Wonwoo heard Mingyu's voice loud and clear behind him and the older wasted no time to turn and face the younger, what greeted him though were the rows of sharp teeth and a long slimy tongue.

The tongue that he didn't hesitate to rip from the godforsaken mouth with his burning scythe. With the demon beast writhing from pain, Wonwoo took the opportunity to slash the beast into two and end its life.

  
"Hyung are you all right? That was close." Mingyu asked as he pulled his lance out of a monster’s chest.

  
"Yes, I am all right, and thank you for warning me." Wonwoo replied as blood sprayed on his face for the umpteen time while tearing whatever hideous creature is in front of him.

  
"Anything for you hyung." Mingyu smiled and swiftly flew up to stab the flying serpent hovering in mid-air.

  
"Our sons" the voice of Lee Jooheon invaded Wonwoo's thoughts.

  
Catching his breath, he quired for the reason of the call.

  
"We have already figured out the cause of this havoc, but the problem is that damned demon even in captivity was still able to cast a barrier that enclosed the bearer of the stones within the space of the theater. The barrier is also affecting our abilities to manipulate the energy outside." Jooheon, head of the noble Lee's paused and heaved a breath.

  
"But Jisung, Huewan and Mingxi somehow figured a way to do it. They said there is an unusual spike of energy somewhere in the forest but they couldn't find it due to the restrictions of the barrier." Jooheon continued.

  
"Our sons, we need you all to gather and find out where is the root of this problem. You and the other heirs are our only hope while we hold down these things." Wonwoo nodded with conviction and replied a short "we will not fail you" even though he knew that the elders will not see it before flying up to look for the others.

Moments later as Wonwoo is making his way to Seungcheol now with Mingyu, he heard another voice invade his thoughts. This time quite unfamiliar.

  
"This is Lee Jihoon, I do apologize for invading your thoughts without your permission. But I believe you have heard the voice of my father earlier and therefore I highly suggest that we gather at the back of the make shift stage. There is still cover and lower energy from the demon beasts, we can gather here safely." Ah Lee Jihoon, he has heard a lot about this man. He might not have personally spoken with him but has heard quite a number of good things about him.

A smart man either with a pen and paper or with a sword. He heard he excel with everything. He looked at Mingyu's direction and unsurprisingly the said man was already looking at him. He nodded at him as a form of agreement and hurried their way to Seungcheol.

********

"Thank goodness you came, I almost thought I was not able to reach you all." Jihoon let out a pleasant sigh.

  
Wonwoo looked around, they were the last ones to arrive. In one of the corners he can see the middle grounders sitting together. A tall man with dark brown locks whom he believed to be the heir of the Wen's was wearing a gash on his right shoulder. Right beside the injured man was he believe to be a Xu, he was looking quite pale, like he was the one wounded. Then, there was the back of a silver haired man whom he believes to be a Yoon facing him, from what Wonwoo can see, he was probably fixing the man’s shoulder.

  
"We should start planning now" Kwon Soonyoung suddenly spoke.

  
"You said they're on their way, right?" This time his question is directed to Jihoon.

If Wonwoo didn't personally knew who Kwon Soonyoung was at a young age he might gave stiffen, but fortunately he had the opportunity to witness the said man dive in a puddle of mud when he was seven. Jihoon didn't even flinch and just nodded.

  
"They are near, I can feel Kwannie" the back of the silver haired man turned and he can swear he heard Seungcheol gasp.

He couldn't blame him though, right in front of them was the jewel of the astrals, Yoon Jeonghan. Famed for his beauty and intelligence, he also heard that he was good with his weapons and was in par with Jihoon when it comes to fighting. In fact, his heard that most astral nobles are good fighters and right at this moment he might think all of those statements were true. Because if all the blood stuck on his clothes does not explain it, he doesn't know what will.

Too much for being gentle and soft spoken.

  
"Well we should start then, may I suggest something?" Soonyoung started and everybody nodded to show their agreement.

  
"As you all know, we middle grounders can feel the flow and pulse of energy from any living creature if we desire too so long as we connect ourselves with the ground." Soonyoung paused and looked around as if making sure that his point was taken through.

  
"But it is only in a limited area. Meaning, we can only feel the flow of energy if it is in the scope of our abilities. Once it's out of range, we can't guarantee you anything." Wonwoo heard Jeonghan hum at the side, he was now seated right beside the middle grounders.

  
"So it works just like our telepathy then." This time he heard Jihoon mumble to himself. Wonwoo can hear the gears of his mind working even at his position.

  
"So what are you suggesting then?" This time it was Seungcheol who spoke, probing the other.

  
"I suggest that we split up. I can take the south. Junhui hyung can take the north, Minghao can look over the west and since Chan and the others are coming from the bunks which is in the eastern part of our territory, it will be easier for him to look over the east.

  
"How do we inform the others when we found whatever the cause of this problem then?" Mingyu butted in.

  
"It's easy, that's where our telepathic abilities come in, after that we can gather and destroy it." Jihoon answered and Mingyu hummed.

  
"This could work" Wonwoo thought, unknowingly voicing it out in the process.

  
"I too, agree with that idea. I have relied this information to my brother and he has also informed the others with him as well." Jeonghan stood up and dusted his trousers which was now crusty from all the dried blood.

  
"Any objections?" Seungcheol asked. None replied, and so they started to split and went to the direction they were assigned to based from what they have planned.

  
Wonwoo looked around as Wen Junhui started to walk his way to the northern part of the woods, with him was Seungcheol and Jeonghan.

The lanky male whom he believed to be named as Minghao who was also the heir of the Xu's was accompanied only with Mingyu to the west until the younger Lee, Jihoon's brother catches up to them.

Wonwoo on the other hand was grouped with Soonyoung and Jihoon. Hansol from what he knew will remain with the younger Kwon together with the other Yoon and the heir of the Hong's.


	6. The Search

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheol is a bit cranky.. and jealous

**Junhui - Middle Ground - Northern Lucid Forest**

Junhui grimace as he felt the light sting on his shoulder. He was wearing an ugly gash moments ago that he got from the talons of one of the demon beast, good thing the astral noble Jeonghan came rushing down to him the moment his knees touched the ground.

He was also thankful for the astral noble for healing him, at least to the point that the pain was bearable enough to move.

"Is it still painful?" As if on cue, the middle grounder heard the soft and worried voice of Yoon Jeonghan. The said man was walking right beside him while the noble nether Choi Seungcheol was a few steps ahead.

"Not at all lord Yoon, I am actually very thankful that you were there to help me." Junhui thanked him as he gratefully looked at the other man.

"I'm sorry I couldn't quite heal you completely lord Wen, healing isn't really what I'm good at you see. If it were Lord Hong who healed you, you're probably patched up perfectly." Jeonghan looked at him with an apologetic gaze.

"Oh lord Yoon, please do not grieve on something as trivial as this little gash. You have healed me wonderfully, in fact you've healed me way better compared to all the healers here in our realm." Jeonghan smiled sweetly, the contrast of his mellow facial features overpowered the obvious blood streaks smeared on top it.

The said man was about to say something when they heard the noble nether who was ahead of them clear his throat.

"I had no intentions of disturbing your small talk," Junhui snapped his head to Seungcheol's direction where he was greeted by the nethers crimson eyes staring onto him before lingering for a second to the silver haired cloud denizen.

"But I believe I should inform you that I can see quite a number of negative auras resembling that of demon beasts roaming around in a few distance ahead." The nether continued with a huff before turning his back.

"Moody as always" Jun heard the denizen mumble before smirking and briskly walking his way to the nether and asking how far were the auras.

"Fifth eben tree northwest, we should probably start looking for the source before they see us." The noble nether answered the cloud denizen and slowly veered his sight to Jun.

"What do you think so Lord Wen?" The nether asked with a cold tone appearing to be very unctuous. Jun wasn't liking the way the nether noble spoke to him but he brushes it off to the side to focus on the given task at hand.

The man was obviously tired and was probably feeling at edge so he couldn't really blame him if he thinks about it. To add to that, was the fact that nether dwellers aren't really a very happy bunch. They prefer to mope inside their ginormous caves, sit under their glowing skia trees or mine their sorrows inside their crystal pits. At least that's what Jun believes.

"I do agree with you Lord Choi, but where we are right now is not the best place for me to look for the source. I would like to reach the middle of the northern part of the forest to make sure I cover everything properly" replied Jun as placidly as he can.

"And besides, it's just an eben tree ahead." He continued.

"Well if that is the case, I don't think it will be bad if we walk just a few steps ahead Cheol." Junhui's attention perked up a notch after hearing the lack of honorifics from the denizen while speaking to the gloomy nether.

Usually, nobles would only call each other by their names if they are very comfortable and trust one another. In fact, he hasn't heard any noble other than his father and the other middle ground heads casually talk to each other like this. He needs to also include himself together with Minghao, Soonyoung and Chan.

"We just need to be careful and avoid them as much as we can and I'm sure we can rely on your abilities to look out for any of their movements, right?" The nether only replied with a huff and turned his back to walk to the eben tree.

Just when Jun thought that he was not going to reply he blurted a quiet "Han, I'm just reminding you that we are not here for a stroll in the forest like we used to."

"I know Cheol, I know."

  
**Mingyu - Middle Ground - Western Lucid Forest**

"I uhh, so do you think it's in this part of the forest we will find the source?" Mingyu stuttered out his words, he had already introduced himself to the noble middle grounder and vice versa and he was running out of things to say. The silence was already beginning to become uncomfortable and he wanted to ease it a little.

"Lord Kim, if I know we wouldn't be walking in the middle of this forest with a great chance of being killed." the middle grounder replied curtly causing Mingyu to unconsciously shut his mouth. They were once again swallowed with silence and Mingyu tried all his best to not make a sound in order to not aggravate the other man more.

"I'm sorry Lord Kim" Mingyu was still trying to accustom himself from the silence when he heard the other man apologize timidly.

"I'm just tired and worried, I did not mean to act so rudely against you. I apologize." Mingyu smiled, he too was tired and worried but none of his dear friends were injured unlike Minghao.

"I understand you lord Xu and I am not taking that against you. I am sorry for being quite a chatterbox as well." With both of them apologizing, the atmosphere felt lighter. Mingyu is still holding himself from speaking nonsense though.

A few seconds pass with their new found peace, Mingyu all of a sudden held his breath while putting a hand in front of Minghao halting them both on their tracks.

"There's a number of them ahead." The nether heard the other man let out a small gasp.

"What? How many?" Minghao questioned after heaving a breath.

"One, two, five, seven, ten, thirteen." Mingyu tried to count.

"Fifteen, there's fifteen of them herding in one place and few scattered around. There's twenty-three of them in total." Mingyu tried to search again with what his vision will allow him see just to make sure.

"That's quite a lot" the middle grounder remarked and Mingyu huffed as a sign that he couldn't agree more.

"How far did you say do we need to walk before we reach the middle?" Mingyu asked, this time with a hushed voice.

"The eben trees are planted for the sole purpose of marking important parts of this forest, the tallest one indicates that we're in the middle. So, I'd say just a few distance ahead." Mingyu nodded and so they started to walk again, this time more watchful of their every move.

They were almost near the eben tree when the first demon beast showed itself, surprising them by its sudden appearance.

The beast is a shadow mongrel, a rear but sinister type of demon. It was Mingyu's first time seeing one and it was surprisingly small compared to the size of what he pictured it to be based from his father’s description.

The demon beast did not attack them at first sight, but instead looked at them as if it was observing their movements.

Then it howled, and that's when Mingyu realized that maybe this shadow mongrel wasn't really built for fighting but for looking at their pray and alerting its fold about their possible catch.

With the shadow mongrels howl echoing all over the forest, Mingyu had to think fast. They still need to look for the source but if they can't find a way to stop these creatures from killing them, they might as well fail.

"Lord Xu I can create a barrier that will protect us from these creatures while you look for the source but it will take time and I will very much need your assistance while I make it." Mingyu grabbed the others shoulder as he presented his idea.

"So that means I need to stall them while you create the barrier? Am I correct?" Mingyu nodded.

"Very well then, let's hurry while they're still not here. The lesser beasts that we deal with the better it will be for the both of us.

*******

They were already under the eben tree. Mingyu has successfully created a barrier that sheltered the both of them from the demon beast with only a few blood splatters. He seated himself at a corner and concentrated in keeping the barrier up.

As of the moment, the noble middle grounder is sitting on the ground under the dried leaves with his legs crossed. He was readying himself to search for any unusual flow of energy while outside of the barrier, three demon beast keeps on banging it the hopes of cracking it open.

Mingyu closed his eyes in order to further will his energy to the barrier and make it stronger, for it is true that three demon beast couldn't easily take down the barrier he created, he is mostly sure that soon there will be more than three of them here and by that time that happens he needs this barrier to be indestructible.

**FACTS ABOUT THE FIC:**

  * Cloud Denizens are also called as Astrals. They live in places which is considered to have high altitude which is why their capital is located at the top of the highest mountain, the moon mountain. Their realm which is known as the Astral cove is hidden by thick clouds.
  * Eben trees are endemic only to the Middle Ground. These trees are pure black from its roots to its leaves. It is also very hard to grow them because it only lives in soil reach with a special mineral called Limeon.
  * Skia trees are endemic and abundant only to the Nether Hollows. Crystal like and glowing, unlike the trees found at the Astral Cove and Middle Ground, these trees provide light instead of shade.




	7. The Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little sprinkle of SoonHoon because why not??

**Jihoon - Middle Ground -Southern Lucid Forest**

Jihoon couldn't help but feel restless. First of all the heirs of Kwon and Jeon seem to know each other and were having small talks and he feels awkward to be with them, second is that they still haven't reached the place that the middle ground noble wanted to go, lastly there is a lack of demon beast around the area to hinder them on their way. In fact, they haven't encountered even one and this really confounded the astral noble. Surely, they will guard the source of their energy, right? He thought so to himself.

"Lord Lee" a hand grabbed Jihoon’s right wrist pulling him back a few steps and landing to the chest of the perpetrator.

"I apologize, for some reason I suddenly just felt a different flow of energy" Lord Kwon apologized as Jihoon moved a few steps away from the said man to steady himself.

"Just verbally warn me next time" Jihoon scoffed and looked around the place, concentrating to any form of change whether it was through sight or sound.

Jihoon only heard a mumbled "I'll make sure" before seeing the noble nether, Lord Jeon, with his glaring red eyes charge his way. His blazed scythe on hand, grip so strong Jihoon saw his knuckles turn white.

Everything happened very fast and slow at the same time that the said man was stunned. Jihoon forgot to move for a moment before he heard the frantic call of the noble nether to get out of the way.

Barely escaping the ginormous burning blade, Jihoon felt blood stick to his back. Green sticky blood covering most of his back. Looking back, he saw the thrashing figure of a phantom serpent. It's long body, about the length of a normal alis tree was covered with shiny black scales that reflected the red moon.

Immediately regaining his senses back, Jihoon took out a set of his knives blinding and cutting off the tongue of the demon beast. In a swift second, the astral noble jumped on the head of the phantom snake and dug both of the initial daggers that was buried on the beast’s eyes with such brute force that it crushed its skull.

The action immediately killed the phantom snake and halted its thrashing. Jihoon hopped off from the carcass of the said beast before its lifeless body hit the ground, but Jihoon knew that something more was coming as he saw the ground started to crack open and both the middle ground and nether noble started to whip their weapons in the air ready to attack.

Hearing a deafening wail from the crack, Jihoon just prayed he will survive the night.

**Seokmin - Middle Ground - Western Lucid Forest**

Seokmin tried really hard to communicate with anybody as he made his way to the western part of the Lucid forest, but alas his telepathic prowess was nowhere near his older brother or Jeonghan.

Yet, it didn't stop him from trying.

Moments later of fruitless search, he was so ready to give up and was starting to believe that he lacks the ability to communicate through telepathy when a muffled reply for help breached his thoughts.

Seokmin sprinted through the forest as he looks for the owner of the voice. His wings flapped as he expertly dodges the branches of the trees.

"Where are you?" He called out again.

"Tallest.... Ebe...." Seokmin barely understood what the other man was saying but he did his best to decipher the message. He might be known in their realm as the goofy and happy young noble Lee, but he was not stupid.

Swooping up to look for the tallest eben tree in the forest, Seokmin immediately flew to the tree and spotted a tall figure of a man with his hand raised in the air. Upon close study, Seokmin realized it was one of the noble nethers. Though he couldn't put a name or which family he belonged to.

"I'm on my way, I can see you now" Seokmin informed the said man.

"Thank you, I can really use some help in warding these things away, I don't think my barrier can hold them much longer." Seokmin only nodded as he made a dive and threw both of his circular blades to a beast attempting to clamp its claws at the barrier.

In a split second the once claws that were on the verge of breaking the barrier was now mutilated from its body and now lays on the forest floor.

Blood pooled at the thrashing beast and Seokmin waited no longer than a second to end it from its misery by slashing its head off for good.

A visible sigh of relief was heard from inside the barrier once the demon beast was killed and Seokmin saw the thankful face of the noble nether which he still has no idea who and another man’s back who seems to be like a middle grounder. 

"Thank you very much my friend, I couldn't really do much while I'm putting this barrier up. There is always a limit to what a man can do all at once." The nether noble thanked him as he wiped off the beads of sweat from his forehead.

"No worries, we are all in this together. I am L-"

"-ound it. I found it!" Seokmin was about to introduce himself to the nether when the other man who had his back facing them suddenly turned and declared in a dazed voice that he found whatever they were looking for. The said man was hovering up slightly from the ground, his green eyes glowing intensely while his shiny brown wings were spread in its full glory.

"I have found the source! It is hidden under the roots of a small eben tree near the western borders that separates our realm from the shadow lands." The man continued speaking in a breathy tone.

"Well we should hurry now and destroy it before it fuels up more demon beast" the noble nether immediately took the barrier down and flapped its wings to ready his flight. The noble middle grounder, now back in his normal state followed suit.

A few moments before they make their way to the location of the source, a very familiar voice invaded Seokmin's thoughts.

"Seokmin? Seokmin can you hear me?" The young Lee had never felt this happy to hear his hyungs voice inside his head. He waited not a single second to answer Jeonghan's call.

"Oh finally! I couldn't reach Jihoon clearly but he said they are on their way to the southern part of the forest, said Jisoo informed him that they found the source. I think we should gather there and help them." Seokmin couldn't see Jeonghan's face but he can hear the hopefulness in his voice. He couldn't blame him though, after running around and killing demon beast to demon beast all he wanted was to end this once and for all and have a good sleep.

However as much as he wanted to end this as quickly as possible, things don't always work the way they wish it to be.

"But hyung we also found the source here and we are on our way" worrying thoughts swarm Seokmin's head as Jeonghan's voice failed to invade his head after his reply.

"Are you sure?" Came in Jeonghan after a few more seconds of silence. This time Seokmin himself was not sure about the answer and turned to the noble middle grounder.

"Noble Sir, I do not doubt you or your skills in locating this source that we are looking for but are you really certain that what you found is the right one?" Seokmin, as kindhearted as he was, did his best to be polite to the man in fear that he might insult him and leave a sour note.

"I understand and I am absolutely certain about it. I can even see how its roots distribute energy to the demon beast." The noble middle grounder responded albeit looking surprised there was no trace of hostility in neither his tone or face.

Seokmin nodded to the noble and went back to talking to Jeonghan. "Yes, yes I can definitely assure you hyung that we found one here."

"Where are you headed then?" Jeonghan asked this time with a breathy voice.

"Western borders hyung, they said its hidden under the roots of an eben tree."

"Very well then, we'll head your way but I need to tell this to Jihoon first." The telepathic connection between them started to became static and just before they lost connection Jeonghan reminded him with a soft voice.

"Seokmin, be very careful, all of you should be. This could be a trap so stay alert."

"I understand hyung, we will." Seokmin softly replied as well and as the connection became static again and as his own thoughts wrap his head he slowly raised his head to ready himself to fly and head to the western borders but as he started to flap his wings the widen eyes of the two noble men mildly shocked welcomed him. Then he realized it, he must have looked like a lunatic.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to weird you off, but my telepathic abilities aren't as good as my hyungs."

"Oh you got me worried there for a second, I thought you've lost your mind." The noble nether replied with a toothy grin and a relieved sigh.

**Facts about the Fic:**

  * The abilities (or powers) of a noble depends on how much they train and not on the family they belong in. For example, even if the Hongs are known as the greatest healers in the entirety of all the realms, if they didn't train from a young age and continued to learn about it, they will only have normal healing abilities just like any other noble.
  * Alis Tree - this tree looks like a typical tree with green leaves and brown trunks and branches during daytime. However, during the evening the leaves of this tree will start to glow faintly. They are abundant near the borders that separates the Middle Ground and Nether Hollows but they can also be found scattered in the three realms.
  * Phantom Serpent - this demon beast in the figure of a giant snake roams the shadow lands. Just like any phantom demon, the phantom serpent has the ability to blend into the darkness and hide its aura making it a good ambush killer in the shadow lands.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i'll be back next monday to post the next 5 chapters.


	8. The Shadow Stone

_**Jisoo - Middle Ground - Eastern Lucid Forest** _

"Hansol make sure Chan is safe!" Jisoo hollered at the nether as he struggled to dodge the rancid spit of a murkroach, dislodge himself from the pincers of an amora all the while cutting three of the many limbs of the arnea in front of him.

It was a lot for him to take but he couldn't let the younger ones handle two or more of these creatures all by themselves. 

For Seungkwan and Hansol he might, because for all he knows Seungkwan didn't went to all of those hunting trips with Jihoon and Seokmin for nothing. Hansol on the other hand seem to also have experience with slaying demon beast with the way he fluidly fights. But with Chan, never. He would never take the risk, especially after knowing that the boy wasn't really given enough opportunities to slay demon beasts with his own hands.

"Don't worry hyung, he's in good hands." The nether replied as he strengthened the barrier that he made around the middle ground noble.

He twisted to his side to chop off the pincer of the amora that was holding him in and successfully freed himself. Jisoo then leaped a few feet up in the air and landed with the blades of his swords first on the hard shell of the amora, cracking it and killing the beast as the blades penetrated the soft flesh hidden underneath. 

Looking around, the murkroach that was spitting its acidic venom at him a few moments ago was now trying to destroy the barrier around Chan and Hansol was sweating profusely as he tried his best to keep the barrier up. 

  
Without second thought Jisoo went straight for the demon beast but before he can reach it, one of Seungkwan's axes went pass his face and landed right on the head of the murkroach killing it instantly.

Hansol visibly slumped inside the barrier, they have been doing this for quite a while now since Chan started to look into the flow of energy in the forest. The boy, with his eyes closed has been slightly hovering from the ground and has never spoken or opened his eyes since he began.

"Are you alright Hansol?" Jisoo heard Seungkwan with a very concerned tone asking the nether noble.

"I am fine. You should worry about yourself, not me. I am right inside this barrier while you're out there risking yourself." Jisoo smiled at the scene unfolding right in front of him as he made his way to the two. It was a nice break from all the fighting he did earlier.

"Just a few scratches won't end me Hansol, now let my hand through." Jisoo's brows knitted in intrigue as Seungkwan placed his hands on the nethers right cheek and started to transfer some of his energy to the exhausted man. 

In the astral realm, sharing energies is viewed as something intimate and it mostly happens between couples, because a close bond of trust and confidence in one another is needed to commence the transfer. Jisoo was about to telepathically tease the younger astral when Chan suddenly opened his eyes.

"The river, the river to the borders, it is hidden inside the trunks of a methein tree." Chan declared as his feet slowly touched the ground.

"You've done a wonderful job Chan, thank you very much,"Jisoo paused as he patted the youngers head.

"But can you please tell us more about it?" Jisoo probed the younger for a clearer description.

"Hyung, the source is in the form of a crystal, a purple crystal. It took me a long time to look for it because it somehow got the roots of the methein tree to tangle itself to its neighbors and those trees in return will tangle some of their roots to other trees while some roots will spread the energy around the forest to fuel the demon beasts." Jisoo heard Seungkwan gasp at the information.

"So, what you mean is that this whole forest for them is like a big ground to replenish their energy?" Fear can be seen etched on the face of the younger cloud denizen as he asked Chan.

"Yes hyung, and not only that-" this time it was Jisoo who held his breath. The fact alone that the whole forest is a fountain of energy for the demon beast was a lot for Jisoo to take, but to know that there is something more to it makes it harder for him to process.

"In some parts where the concentration of dark energy is big enough, the boundary between the humanly world and the demon world thins up allowing the demons to rip up an opening and spring out to our world just like what's happening in the shadow lands." Jisoo felt Seungkwan grip his arms for support, it appears that the information was too much for him to take as well. 

He wouldn't wonder though, he too felt light headed by this and a quick glance at Hansol's ashen face says it all. 

It was terrifying.

"Now this explains the sudden appearance of this creatures." Jisoo held Seungkwans hand and softly squeezed it. Although the young man has been training and fighting alongside with them during their demon hunts for quite some time now, he was still the young bubbly Seungkwan. Jeonghan's brother, and as his best friend would like to call it, his baby brother.

"Thank you, Chan, do you know where this methein tree is exactly located? Can you lead us there?" Truthfully, Jisoo didn't want to know but in order to end it all they have to destroy the crystal.

"Yes hyung, I can lead you there" the look of fear can also be seen in the young face of the middle grounder but Chan did his best to hide it.

"Very well, lets go then and destroy that crystal. We need to stop it from sending more demons in the human world." With that, they all flapped their wings and ascended to the bloody red sky.

  
"Hyung that's it" Chan hovered above the thick canopy of trees and pointed on a small purple tree right beside the riverbank. To be honest it looked normal, nothing seemed to be suspicious on the physical attributes of the said tree.

"Alright keep close and be alert." Jisoo commanded everyone as they made their way to the tree.

"The group assigned to the southern part of the forest is on their way here and Jihoon told me he already informed Jeonghan's group as well." Jisoo was the first one to dive down to the tree but he immediately halted once he was a few feet away from it when he felt a different shift in the air. 

Out of nowhere a shadow centipede appeared in front of him and its poisoned fangs almost got him if he was not able to dodge its attack right on time.

While the demon beast landed back to the ground, Jisoo swiftly took out both of his sickle swords from the sigil on his back and briskly but carefully dive back to attack the shadow centipede. 

The creature immediately died but Jisoo knew not to be thankful about it because as soon as the beast stopped flailing, the ground beneath it crumbled open and different screeches from various demon beast can be heard through the crack. 

Jisoo readied himself as a demon beast slowly ascended from the crack. He held tightly on his sickle swords as not one but three giant blood moths appear out of it. 

Jisoo felt his faith wither for a moment until he felt two hands softly grip both of his shoulders. He looked back and saw Seungkwan and Hansol, although both are scared and uncertain, the undeniable determination drawn on their faces and the encouraging smile that Chan beamed him was enough to get his faith back.

With one last look, the four attacked the blood moths. Seungkwan and Hansol took the smaller ones while Jisoo and Chan teamed up to slay the biggest one out of the three. 

From what he knows, the most integral part of a blood moth other than its heart is their antennae. Chop them off and the blood moths turn into nothing but senseless creatures. So Jisoo decided to go for it first. 

With his sickle swords grasped tightly on both of his hands, he propelled himself upwards while instructing Chan to distract the demon beast from below. 

The young man started to charge at the blood moth with his blazing lance while Jisoo started to concentrate his energy on his blades, once he deemed that it was enough, he aimed at the base of the moths head where the antennae are and shot a burst of lightning to it.

With the burst of lighting, the antennae fell off and opposite to what Jisoo expected, the moth started to become feral. It started to spit acidic poison all the while spreading its air blocking spores.

"Cover your noses" he telepathically communicated to warn the others from inhaling the contaminated air.

"Chan hang on down there. I'll make this quick." Jisoo dove right to the head of the blood moth and was ready to stab it but because it was flailing, it unexpectedly turned at him while it was unconsciously spitting its venom. 

With swift movements Jisoo was able to dodge it, but not all. 

His right arm was scathed with deep burns and he tried his hardest to not wail from the pain. 

With his aching limb he still made his way back to the moth and successfully stab it on the head, splitting it in half.

The beast with its severed head fell instantly on the ground. As the beast started to fall, Jisoo slumped to the ground with his knees first as well. He was bloody and weak and he would need a moment and a lot of energy to heal himself. In his peripheral, he can see Chan making his way to him and all he can think of right in that moment is the need to close his eyes and take a rest.

"Jisoo hyung!" It was Jihoon's voice and Jisoo unconsciously smiled just by hearing another familiar voice. It was comforting, it was lulling him to sleep.

  
  
"Stay with us please, don't fall asleep. We'll heal you now." Jisoo can hear shuffling, then he was being dragged to the side. 

He saw two other men, it was probably the other nobles that was with Jihoon, they were now the ones fighting the remaining blood moths. 

He looked around, worried for the younger ones when he saw the three huddled closely. They broke apart a few moments later and Seungkwan made his way to him. 

With Seungkwan and Jihoon by his side, he started to feel comfortable, maybe because they were healing him or maybe because the mere thought of his friends whom he treats as brothers was enough for him to calm his nerves down.

"Keep healing him Kwan, I'll go and help the others." And with that said he went to another middle grounder and helped him slay the thrashing blood moth. 

That was the last thing Jisoo saw before slumber claimed him.

* * *

When things settled down for a bit, Jisoo's eyes fluttered open. Seungkwan was still by his side but the rest was huddled in front of where he thought the methein tree was. 

"Are you feeling fine now hyung?" The youngest cloud denizen asked.

"I'm feeling much better now Kwannie, thank you very much." He paused and smiled at the said man which earned him a tight hug and a small whisper of "I'm so glad you're fine now". 

He wasn't patched up completely but the burns were almost gone now and he has replenished a few of his lost strength from that short nap.

"What's happening?" Jisoo queried the younger cloud denizen.

"They have been trying to figure out how to destroy the stone but it's not budging" Jisoo slowly got up to get a glimpse of the stone and what he saw befuddled him. 

For some reason the stone looked familiar. When he tried to dig deeper in his memory, the yellow pages of an old crusty book appear in his mind. 

Then it hit him, this stone is a shadow stone. He saw it in that old book that Jeonghan kept reading. In order to destroy this stone, it needs the cumulative energies of a highland, middleland and a netherland dweller. Which in the modern times known as the three races from the three realms.

"In order to destroy it, you need to combine the energies of at least one person from each realm." Everybody turned their heads and gave Jisoo a questioning glance.

"Jihoon, Seungkwan, remember that old book that I kept pestering Jeonghan to stop reading?" The two mentioned men nodded silently.

"I saw this in that book. It has the exact look and description and it stated how to destroy it." They all exchange glances and silently agreed to try it.

"Well we have nothing to lose if we try it." The nether whom Jisoo didn't know spoke up.

"I agree with Lord Jeon" Jihoon said. The younger nobles and a middle grounder whom Jisoo also didn't know nodded as well in agreement. 

Jisoo gave a quick glance at Jihoon and the younger male made his way in front of the tree, the two unknown nobles followed behind him.

The three men started to concentrate their energies at their palms. Reeling and welding it to create balls of light. 

A flash of white, green, and red light spurted out of their palms that went directly to the stone. A few moments later the stone started to crack. The three nobles amplified the force of their attack by pouring more of their energy to it and in no time the stone started to break apart. 

As the stone started to crack a bright speck of light from the inside started to seep out and as it completely broke off, a stream of blinding white light covered them all.

_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * Murkroach - is a giant insect like demon beast that looks like a cross between a cockroach and a beetle. This demon beast loves burying itself under mud or any patch of moist soil. They are ambush attackers and spit acidic venom out of their mouths.
  * Blood moth - Blood moths are giant flesh-eating moths. Their rich dark red color earned them their names. Aside from their flesh rotting spit, these beasts also have a special powder like substance called moth spores that cause anything that inhales it to have difficulties in breathing.
  * Shadow lands - these are the lands outside of the three realms. Most of it are barren and demon beast infested.




	9. The Past

_**Jeonghan - Middle Ground - Western Lucid Forest** _

Jeonghan wasted no time throwing himself between Minghao and the sheol mantis that was pushing the younger man to the ground. The middle grounder was already bleeding from all the small cuts and gashes that he got from fighting the said demon beast and it was a matter of time before he completely falls down.

  
The two teamed up in killing the beast as Minghao jumped at the back of the gigantic mantis and curled the chains of his nunchucks on its head while Jeonghan chopped off the bladed limbs of the horrid creature.

  
Jeonghan saw how the middle grounders legs gave up as soon as he saw the creature dead on the ground. He quickly ran to the said man and healed some of the wounds on his body all the while assisting him as they trudge their way to a big rock so that Minghao can at least have something to lean on.

  
In just a few moments Junhui was on their side cradling the younger man on his chest as Minghao takes labored breaths with his eyes closed. His hand was on his stomach trying to suppress the blood and pain that was both cruising and coming out of his body.

  
"I've healed some of the cuts and bruises but some are much deeper for my healing abilities to fix. I'm sorry." The bleeding on his abdomen has now stopped and the middle grounder was breathing normally now.

  
"You don't need to apologize hyung, you've done your best. What is important is he is out of harms way. Thank you very much for your help hyung, we owe you a lot."

Jeonghan smiled and ruffled Jun's hair. Pressing his right palm on the rock, he stood up and readied himself to walk back to the others who was now in the process of uprooting the crystal.

  
Standing beside Seungcheol, he wobbled a little as a wave of tiredness hit him. He was surprised when a hand softly placed itself on his lower back and another hand crept on his shoulder steadying him.

  
"I asked you earlier to take it easy, you said you will, but now look at you." Seungcheol spoke in a low voice. He sounded mad but mostly worried.

  
"I am fine Cheol, don't worry" Jeonghan looked back at the noble nether but Seungcheol avoided his gaze and huffed as he looked straight ahead.They stayed like that for a few moments as Mingyu and Seokmin took the crystal out. 

Jeonghan stiffened as he saw the crystal. Immediately recognizing what kind of crystal it was, he started to explain to the rest what it was and how to destroy it. 

  
The noble cloud denizen followed Seungcheol and Jun as they made their way to the crystal but Seokmin stopped him and instead offered to do the deed himself. He was honestly tired and didn't argue with the younger man, he also figured that he might as well fulfill his promise to Seungcheol that he made earlier. 

  
The three started to beam their energies at the crystal and as the crystal broke blinding white light streamed out of it. The light enveloped everything around him. Things started to become blurry and bright and Jeonghan felt dizzy. Then the stream of light suddenly receded and the once bright place became a desolate dark wasteland.   
The cloud denizen looked around but all he can see is wreck. Burnt trees, dried land and as much as he doesn't want to admit, dead bodies. Then that's when he realized that he was alone.

  
The blond felt shivers run down his spine. He didn't know if this was some twisted kind of mirage or if he was really sent to a different place by some powerful spell.  
Out of nowhere, he then heard someone from a far. He tried to look for the owner of those pained sobs and saw a man crouching on the ground with an unmistakable body of a human in front of him. 

  
Jeonghan hurriedly went to the man and almost stumbled on the ground once he saw a glimpse of who the man was.

  
It was Seungkwan, or it looked like him. The man has the same face as his younger brother but his hair was brown and so were his wings. Jeonghan was ready to turn his back and leave for he couldn't take to look at his brother or even his look alike cry so painfully. But seeing the body that the man in front of him was mourning at froze him on his feet. 

  
The uncanny similarities of the facial features of the lying man made Jeonghan almost puke. There, he saw a man with the same face as him lying on the ground, taking labored breaths as blood trickle out of his mouth. His disheveled hair was long but it was black and unlike his pristine white wings the other had one of his brown bloody wings sheared off from him. 

  
"Hyung please stay with me, don't go" he heard his younger brother beg.

  
"Kwannie, I'm tired and his waiting for me in the other end." Seungkwan sobbed harder.

  
"No don't go, please stay. Please don't leave me" The dying man reached his younger brothers cheeks and caressed it softly.

  
"Now d-don't cry n-now brother, just w-wait and you'll be with us s-soon." Jeonghan didn't knew what happened next as the same bright light started to wrap him again. He covered his eyes from the intensity of the light and the next thing he saw was the heads of thirteen men talking around a bon fire. He was above them and he couldn't quite see their faces. 

  
"What about we make a vessel that will trap her so that we can destroy her." Things started to become suddenly blurry. The next thing he saw was a man that looked like Seungcheol but with auburn hair and a man that looked like Jihoon but with pink hair.

  
"Hyung we figured out how to make the vessel but it can't take all of her soul. We need to rip her soul apart and place it in a number of vessels." Jihoon paused and readied himself to continue what seems to be something negative.

  
"And also hyung, in order to seal the vessel we need to give a bit of our souls as well." Seungcheol paled.  
Things started to become blurry again and now he saw familiar and unfamiliar faces all looking scared under the moonlight.

  
"But this is very dangerous, giving a bit of our souls is like walking to deaths door." Things started to fade and voices began to sound stuffy.

  
"I'm willing to take the risk to end this all. Even if it means death" it was unmistakably Seungkwan's voice.  
He was back at the same desolate wasteland but this time it wasn't dark anymore but it was bright. Blue sky has replaced the black clouds from before and birds can be seen flying in the sky. 

  
Looking from afar he saw three individual circling around a ball of light. Jeonghan hovered his way and he saw the weakened figures of Seungkwan and three others slumped to the ground. 

  
"We did it, we can finally join them now" Jeonghan didn't understand who they want to be with but the peaceful smile in Seungkwan's face calmed down his nerves. They all started to close their eyes, breath slowly seizing and as life slowly seep out them a clump of gems in different colors wrapped in a chain hovered in air.

  
Things started to become white again and now he can hear his mothers voice calling him softly. Jeonghan fluttered his eyes open and he now in the comfort of his room.

_**Facts about the Fic** _

  * Sheol Mantis - a giant praying mantis with bladed limbs and acidic spit.
  * Amora - a giant crab demon beast. The shell of this beast is as hard as titanium.
  * Shadow Centipede - an ambush hunter in a form of a centipede.




	10. The Dreams

_**Jeonghan - Astral Locus - Yoon Manor** _

"Seungkwan" Jeonghan bolted up on his bed the moment he realized that he was indeed lying on the soft sheets that he was so used to and was draped with a blanket. He was feeling on edge from the dream he just woken up to, the images were just too vivid for his liking.

  
"Jeonghan my child, take it easy, will you?" the face of his smiling mother greeted the noble astral and that alone made him a whole lot calmer than before. 

  
"Your brother is just at his room or was at his room, I believe. That boy has woken up last evening and he was advised to rest for a day or two, but you know your brother." His mother giggled as she brushed some of the strands off of Jeonghan's face.

  
"Mother, how is father by the way? Is he alright? He wasn't injured badly, am I right?" Jeonghan felt nervous again as he remembered that they left their fathers at the meadows to look for the source. 

  
"Your father is a stubborn old man my son, it'll take a few hundred of those demon beasts to put him down." His mother replied.

  
"How long was I asleep mother?" Jeonghan asked as he leaned his back on the headboard of his bed.

  
"Three days my dear boy. You had me and your father worried to be honest. I was already thinking that if you didn't wake up by sunset, I'll ask someone from the Hong's to come and tend to you." Jeonghan felt sorry as he studied the tired face of his mother. 

  
"And don't tell your brother I told you this, but as soon as he woke up, he wobbled his way to your room and cried."

Jeonghan smiled at what he heard. Seungkwan might be a loud mouth but the boy is very sweet and loving. Jeonghan loves him with every fiber of his being.

  
"That is how I actually found out his awake. I almost dropped the basin when I went inside his room and it was empty, then I heard someone sniffling. Your father had a good laugh when I told him about it." Jeonghan slowly reached for his mothers hands and squeezed it. Feeling the hands of his mother assured him that he was indeed home.

  
His mother continued to tend to him for a few moments before one of the maids knocked on his door.

  
"My lady forgive me for disturbing you and the young master, but as you have told me to tell you, the carriage is all ready." The maid has her head bowed all the time she spoke, as a show of respect to the noble astrals.

"Very well then, you may now go. Tell them I'll be down in a few moments." The noble astral commanded with a smiling face.

  
"Would you like me to send someone to accompany you my dear? I'll be out for some time. The ladies and I will have a talk about the wives and mothers of the injured soldiers between some garnet tea and bellis bread." His mothers face whipped back at him. Her blond hair weaving through the wind.

  
"I'll be fine by my own mother. Don't worry." Jeonghan giggled as he squeezed his mothers hand tighter. The noble lady then slowly stood up from her chair and just as she was about to make her way to the door, she tried to ask Jeonghan again with a worried face once more.

  
"Are you certain about that?"

  
"Yes mother, I truly am"

  
"Hummff, alright then. I'll just have someone stay at the other side of your door so you can call anybody when you need something." Accepting her defeat, his mother finally made her way out of his room and down to their front door where her carriage to the Lee's is waiting.

  
Alone in his room, the blond sluggishly made his way to the open terrace. The clear blue sky and the colorful leaves of the chros trees surrounding the realm were the first things that greeted him. Everything is bright and colorful as it normally is. To someone from the middle ground or nether hollows, waking up to this kind of environment might gave them a mild headache. For Jeonghan however, this is what he exactly needs. Basking under the rays of sunlight and the soft touch of the wind, the noble closed his eyes and tried to enjoy the stillness of nature that he was offered. A few moments later he heard his door slowly open and then he was being enveloped in a hug by the warm arms of his younger brother.

  
"Took you long enough to wake up, loser." Seungkwan's voice was muffled as he buried his face on his brothers back.

  
"Yeah sorry." Jeonghan apologized, the older wanted to be sarcastic with his reply but then he remembered how his brother cried for him which reminds him of,

  
"Oh and I also heard that you came trudging here to my room crying the moment you woke. I must say brother, that I am very touched." Jeonghan grinned widely as he felt his brother push himself away from him.

  
"And where have you heard such fallacy? I did no such thing." Jeonghan laughed at Seungkwan as the other outright denied everything with his red face. Then Seungkwan went silent, almost like he was contemplating about something. Jeonghan watched conflicted whether he should ask the younger or remain silent as his little brother held the maror railings of his balcony.

  
"I was just worried. I had a dream, a really long dream." Seungkwan suddenly said, breaking the comforting moment that the brothers were basking into. 

  
"I saw you die, the others too. You all fell down one by one and I couldn't do anything. It was terrifying." Jeonghan, stiffened by the youngers revelation whipped his gaze to Seungkwan in just mere seconds. He then slowly placed his hand on his shoulder and turned the younger man so that he was facing him.

  
"And then in a flash, I saw you dying on my arms. It felt so real and painful I thought I was going to die as well. Then in my dream Hansol came to me and I suddenly woke up." Jeonghan looked at his brothers deep blue eyes. He tried to see if there was any hint of jesting in it for Seungkwan is a big fan of practical jokes just like him. 

  
There was none.

  
All he saw was a mixture of sadness, regret and fear.  
"Hyung?" Seungkwan, flustered from his brothers sudden action was now lightly clutching the back of his shirt as he squeezed the younger in a tight hug.

  
"I-i had the same dream, b-but I saw myself dying in your arms instead." Jeonghan heard how Seungkwan gasp and he stiffened in his arms. The younger then pulled himself out of his older brothers hug, face marred with confusion, fear and worry.

  
"Hyung how can that happen? Is sharing dreams even possible?" Jeonghan can only look away from his brothers face for he was also confused. He doesn't even know if it was just a dream or not, everything felt too real for him in that dream. Like it really did happen at some point in his life.

  
"I don't know Seungkwan. I wish I do, but don't worry. We'll try and look for answers in the future." The younger only stayed silent at his brothers attempt of calming him down but deep inside all he felt was anxiousness.   
Knowing how his brothers brain work, Jeonghan was about to squeeze him again with another hug when a familiar black bird landed on one of the statues in his terrace.

  
Although still tensed from his earlier talk with his brother, the noble astral couldn't stop himself from letting out a small smile as he was reminded of what the bird was there for.

  
"Seeing that you have sent your bird here, probably means you are fine." Jeonghan then turned back to his room and started to make his way to the door.  
"Hyung? What are you talking about?" Seungkwan, now more confused asked.

  
"It's nothing Seungkwan, just nethers and their warging abilities. Now would you come with me and walk around the garden? I have a lot of catching up to do if all I did was sleep in the past three days."

_**Wonwoo - Astral Locus - Haljart** _

Waking up at Astral Locus was something Wonwoo will never get used to. Everything was either shining, white or doused in pastel colors. The rocks were shining, the trees all had the same pastel brown color for their trunks and branches while the leaves are just a big chunk of unrestrained kaleidoscope. In other words, waking up at the astral realm as a nether dweller means headache caused by the sheer brightness of the environment. As the nether started to groan on his bed the door to his room softly opened.

  
"Oh, I see you're awake now, how are you feeling?" A familiar man of soft features, blond hair with pinkish streaks at the tips appeared at his door. He had a trolly filled with different small bottles, basin, pitcher of water and few towels on hand.

  
"I-I" Wonwoo first of all, wanted the curtains of his windows to be pulled down but as the flashbacks of what his seems to be too real dream come back to him, the nether with his shaking body made a dash like a mad man out of his room to look for Mingyu.

  
He needed to make sure that the other man was safe. He had to see him with his own eyes because the image of the man crawling his way to him covered with blood is deeply engraved in his head.

  
"Where is Mingyu! Please tell me where is Mingyu. I need to make sure he is safe." Wonwoo begged the first person he saw walking in the corridors.

  
"Lord Jeon! Lord Jeon! Wonwoo please calm yourself down! Lord Kim is fine. I can lead you to his room but only if you rest for a bit. Your body is still very weak." Wonwoo flashed a skeptical look at the man, not really believing his words.

  
"Please, in the name of the noble Hong's. I, Hong Jisoo promise that I will personally lead you to Lord Kim after you have taken your medicine and rested a bit. Please believe me." Wonwoo was still skeptical with the man but he was too weak to fight back. His legs started to give out and he almost fell to the floor if not for Jisoo who was right beside him in a flash to help him out. They made their way to his room with slow steps and Wonwoo plopped on his bed the moment he made contact with it.

"He was awake a few hours ago, just to let you know." Jisoo said as he started to brew some concoction from the small bottles, he had on the trolly.

  
"The healers attending to him had to hold him down a bit because the first thing he did was bolt out of his bed, with his nether senses and all looking like he could kill another hundred of those demon beasts." The astral chuckled as he stirred the mixture.

  
"Took a bit of intervention from Lady Kim, good lords Lady Kim was there or it might have been a mess." Looking at the concoction and deeming it to be perfect, he beckoned the nether to drink it.

  
"And then what happened to him? What made him do that? Mingyu isn't someone to lose his composure that easily" Wonwoo asked before sipping the liquid timidly. He grimaced at the flavor, it was bitter and sour at the same time.

  
"Finish that, and I wish I knew. I wasn't there when he woke up and from what the other healers said, as soon as Lady Kim started to calm him down, Lord Kim fainted. But don't worry, he just fainted out of tiredness. He just needs a little more of rest and he'll be fine." Jisoo replied as beckoned Wonwoo again to drink the mixture. The nether this time obeyed and tried his best to not puke it.

The astral then sat beside him and rested the palm of his right hand on top of his forehead. A calming feeling then enveloped Wonwoo as Jisoo started to heal him more.

"Thank you, Lord Hong. I deeply apologize for my behavior earlier. I wasn't really myself and the dream I had before waking up bothered me a lot." Wonwoo isn't one to open up easily but the gentleness and sincerity that the astral radiates made it easier for him to do so.

  
This statement perked up the interest of the astral though as he stiffened beside the nether.

  
"Wha-what did you saw?" The astral stammered a little.

  
"Blood, pain, death. I saw some familiar faces. Lord Lee, both the Lords of Kwon, young Lord Yoon, you, Hansol, Seungcheol hyung, Mingyu." He couldn't help but choke a sob as he mentioned the last three names. They grew up together and treated each other as brothers, helplessly watching them take their last breaths was too much for him even if it was a dream. Bowing his head down to hide his tears, Wonwoo felt comforting arms wrap him in a tight hug.

  
"Most of the time I am actually very good in comforting people, but as of the moment I have no words. To be honest I also had a dream before waking up too. I had brown hair and wings and I was freely flying the wind with all of you, then things change and the next thing I saw was the man that I deeply cherish desperately trying to reach my hand as he takes his last breath. He didn't make it though." The astral was now softly drawing circles on his back as a form of comfort and Wonwoo can only imagine the pain of dreaming something like that. Then it hit him as thoughts started forming inside his head. 

  
"What if, what if those are not dreams? What if they are more? I personally did not saw what my wings looked like but you all had brown feathery wings, even Seungcheol hyung, Hansol and Mingyu." The astral looked at him incredulously as he voiced out his thoughts.

  
"Look here Lord Hong, if you and I both had the same kind of dream don't you think it means something?" Nothing came out of Jisoo as his mouth fell agape. Wonwoo can feel the gears of his head twisting in an overdrive as he weighed the possibility of it.

  
"We'll have to look into it before drawing any conclusions Lord Jeon. I'll ask Jeonghan if he is awake and also Jihoon if they have had the same kind of dream, then we can ask the elders for help." Jisoo finally said as he beckons Wonwoo to lie on his bed. 

  
"But now you first need to rest. I will comeback in an hour to wake you up so you can drink an energizing potion then I'll take you to Lord Kim and we will talk more about this." Wonwoo nodded and started to settle on the soft white sheets. The astral help him tuck himself to bed and drew down his curtains. Once Wonwoo had his eyes closed, only then the astral left to look for his friends.

_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * Garnet Tea - a tea brewed from the roots and petals of a garnet rose. It is a rare delicacy from the astral realm and mostly nobles and high ranking astrals are the ones that enjoy this drink. It is hailed in the three realms as one of the best drinks for its medicinal benefits and delectable taste.
  * Chros Tree - this were the first kind of trees that Wonwoo saw the moment he woke up from the astral realm. These trees are common and can easily be spotted because of its colorful leaves.
  * Haljart - a medicinal garden that was used to be a part of the Hong manor before they decided to share the plants to other healers in order for them to heal people better and faster. Haljart is still headed by the Hong nobles since the day it was opened to the public while the people working with them are the best healers from the astral realm. It has become the refuge for the ill people from all over the three realms. As the years go by Haljart has become more like a hospital since it faced a series of renovations to improve its services and accommodate more patients.




	11. The Warg

_**Seungcheol - Astral Locus - Haljart** _

Seungcheol felt like his world was twirling as soon as he let Sentia go. The black bird was now freely flying around the astral skies. She has done her job well, as most of the time. 

The nether slowly closed his eyes as the headache travels the entirety of his skull, warging wasn't really this tasking for him but considering that his body is still weak, he didn't even dare wonder.

  
Seungcheol new that it wasn't really the best idea to warg on something as soon as you open your eyes, but he couldn't help it. He just had to see him and check on his safety.

  
And so he did.

  
Stalling for a bit and pretended to sleep, as soon as the healers left his room, he made no waste in time and called for his bird. With just a short whistle, the flapping of wings can already be heard. Seungcheol smiled, he really did trained the bird well, he thought. After all, doing this everyday has turned it to something more of a habit than just simply checking someone out of worry.

  
For a nether, you would think he knew nothing about the astral realm.

  
That is the exact opposite. Warging the same bird and going around the same realm for the past five years, Seungcheol has memorized every nook and cranny that the bright astral realm has to offer. He probably knew the astral realm better than his own.

  
As he flits through the wind and saw the familiar blue roof he has been accustomed for years, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief as he saw a mop of long silver locks standing by the balcony that he knew so well.

  
As the astral landed his gaze on him, Seungcheol almost stopped warging from the bird. 

  
Jeonghan is as breathtakingly beautiful as always. Elegant and ethereal. No one can compare the beauty of the astral from Seungcheol's eyes. Seeing the other man smile at him in recognition was too much that he prematurely warged off of his bird.

  
The sudden withdrawal from his pet shocked his body as the flow of energy and connection with his pet got disrupted. That's how he found himself right now lying on his bed with a flushed face and high temperature. That's also how Jisoo found him as well.

  
"Seriously Seungcheol, you do this every day and yet you still trip off?" Jisoo grinned and shook his head as he started to brew one of his crazy concoctions.

  
"I-i was just taken aback. He suddenly looked at me." The nether tried to reason out.

  
"Again, may I remind you that you have been doing this every day for five years, five years Seungcheol. Why don't you just go and talk to him. You have been moping for six years now. I think that's enough." Jisoo bit back as he handed him a small bowl full of purple liquid. Seungcheol remained silent, he still hadn't gone over of the past. He can't help but be reminded of how incapable he was when he is needed the most.

  
"I know you have heard this a lot of times from me or Jeonghan himself, but let me repeat this again. It was never your fault. You did your best to help and for that we are thankful. So please stop blaming yourself." Jisoo was now looking at him intensely but Seungcheol just bowed his head down and stared at the empty bowl he was holding. Everything is easier said than done. 

  
"So, what made you warg on your bird the first thing after waking up? Because I know for sure that you usually come over during Jeonghan's tea time." The astral tried to lift up the mood by asking in a cheery tone after getting no answer from the nether.

  
"I just had some strange dream and it got me tensed." Seungcheol saw how the astrals eyebrows perk up in interest.

  
"Did you perhaps saw some familiar people?" Sengcheol's eyes widen as he heard the astral ask him timidly.

  
"Ye-yes how did you know?" Seungcheol has his hand on his head but he was not dizzy anymore, instead he was confused. 

  
"Did you saw some barren land? Destroyed towns? Demon beasts?" The nether was confused but nodded anyways.

  
"Did you, did you saw someone dying infront of you? D-did you felt like you were dying as well?" Seungcheol felt shivers run down his spine as he remembered how Jeonghan was covered in his own blood. One of his beautiful wings, although not white, is severed from his body. Seungcheol wanted to weep for him. The feeling alone of having your wings chop off was already very painful, but knowing how much Jeonghan took care of his wings was too much for him to take.

  
"I think Lord Jeon was right. There must be really something behind those dreams." Jisoo started to murmur to himself.

  
"What do you mean?" Seungcheol is now starting to get pissed. Too many questions but his weren't even answered. He doesn't really like it if he feels like he is stupid, and Jisoo talking to himself about something about his dream made him feel like that.

  
"Earlier when Lord Jeon woke up, he dashed out of his room like a mad man and started to look for Lord Kim. I had to ask him to calm down, which he did. Then, he told me he had a strange dream." Jisoo paused and looked at the nether with scrunched up brows and a worried look.

  
"Seungcheol, the dream he had got the same aspects as mine. I was actually planning to share this with Jeonghan and Jihoon first but seeing that Jeonghan just woken up and Jihoon might have blocked his mind to do some meditation, I didn't get to any of them." Seungcheol was still confused, he still can't wrap anything about the situation.

  
"Then what did Wonwoo meant?" The nether ask in a lower tone of voice.

  
"That the dreams weren't really just dreams, that they were something else. Something more." Seungcheol remained silent, while he knew that the younger nether was a smart man, he can't help but feel skeptical. They were wrapped in a few moments of silence until soft knocks on the wooden door was heard and an astral healer appeared.

  
"I deeply apologize for disturbing you high lords" the healer started. Her head was bowed to show her outmost respect to both the astral and nether nobles. 

  
"However Grand Healer Yoo sent me to look for High Lord Hong and inform you that Lord Lee is awake. A subtle gasp that was almost unheard left the blonds lips and Seungcheol saw how the other flinch a little by the mention of the other man.

  
"Thank you, lady, please tell them that his High Lord is on his way." Seungcheol motioned the healer to go before Jisoo can utter a word.

  
"But Seungcheol we still need to sor-" Jisoo started to retaliate but the nether didn't let him.

  
"Go to him first, I know you want to see him. I understand. You won't be able to concentrate anyway knowing his awake."

  
"B-but"

  
"Jisoo go, who knows that by visiting him now it will help us with solving these mysterious dreams."

  
"Alright then, we will talk about this later. If Seokmin ever mentions having the same dream as us, I'm telling my father so he could inform the other nobles." Seungcheol hummed in response to the blond and watched his back as he walked out of his room. A lot might have change all throughout the years, but Jisoo fussing over them since they were children didn't.

_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * **Noble ranking**
  * Lord Master - the current heads of the noble houses. They hold the highest authority in their house and the land that they rule in the realm.
  * High Lord - a noble heir that is currently of age. They are next inline as the next Lord Master of their house. Once a High Lord, the noble will take part in governing and making decisions for their house and realm.
  * Lord - a noble heir who is also of age and next in line for the throne after the High Lord. They also take part in governing and making decisions for their house and realm.




	12. The First Prophecy

_**Soonyoung - Astral Locus - Hong Manor** _

Soonyoung jittery walked the brightly lit hallways of the Hong manor. He was sitting under a chros tree, enjoying the soft breeze with his eyes closed and listening to the gentle flow of water from the prism fountain at the open garden of Haljart, when one of his fathers personal knights made his way to him. 

"High Lord Kwon, I apologize for disturbing you, however Lord Master has sent me here to deliver a message." The knight said after bowing to Soonyoung.

"Oh don't worry Sir Shin, I was about to get up anyways. What is the message that my father wanted me to know?" Soonyoung replied as he started to stand up and brush the dried leaves and grass that clung to his pants.

"My lord, the Lord Masters will have an assembly in a few moments and Lord Master wanted you, my high lord and young master Kwon to join him in the assembly." Soonyoung paused, he was never invited neither Jun or Minghao in an assembly with the Lord Masters before.

Yes, he has heard that the heirs of the Choi, Yoon and Hong have been going to some but that is because they are a few years older and is applying their learning from the books to actual settings. 

"But of course, I will," Soonyoung paused as he contemplated the reason why he is being invited to this assembly.

"This is an important opportunity that I should never miss. Will you be fetching my brother as well? I would love to go with him to the assembly." Soonyoung continued as he brushed his messy brown hair back.

"High Lord, Sir Song was sent to fetch your brother."

"Oh! Well then, we should get going. I wouldn't want to leave such a bad first impression to the other Lord Masters." Soonyoung commanded as he gestured the knight to lead him to where the assembly will happen. He was feeling excited about being invited, but at the same time nervous. Only High Lords of more than or at the age of eighteen are the once allowed to attend, and Soonyoung although forgetful at times, knows very well that his eighteenth birthday is still a few full moons away. In fact, his birthday was a few full moons after Jun. So being invited in the assembly means that something gravely important must be discussed.

"We're here my High Lord." The deep voice of the knight broke Soonyoung's train of thoughts. He was so immersed with looking for reasons as to why he was invited that he didn't realize that they paused in front of a big white wooden door.

"Oh, Well thank you Sir Shin." Soonyoung dismissed the knight with a smile and slowly pushed the gigantic wooden doors.

As the middle grounder stepped inside, he was greeted with different faces all sitting side by side with one another as they circle a pristine round table. 

"Ah, here comes my eldest, just in time." His father comments as he gestured Soonyoung to take the only vacant seat that he could find. It was the one beside the eldest Lee.

Soonyoung immediately made his way to his father and seated himself beside him. He could see his younger brother right next to his father as well on the other side. Making himself comfortable, he couldn't help but look at the man beside him. He's always taken High Lord Lee with high regard, the young man always looked poised and calm every time he sees him. Well, except for the time he saw Lord Hong covered in blood and all, but Soonyoung wouldn't take that against him because if he saw any of his friends in that state, he might have gone berserk. 

"Alright now that everybody's here, I would first like to thank everyone for coming in this sudden assembly." High Lord Hong started.

"I know most of you are still recuperating, but there is a peculiar incident that High Lord Hong together with the other high lords have experienced. I think this needs to be deciphered with not only by a few, but all of us." Most of the men in the room started to look and nod at each other to show their agreement.

"So, what is this peculiar incident has happened Jisung?" Soonyoung heard Lord Master Choi ask.

"I think it would be better if my son explains this. After all it would be better if the explanation came from the once who experienced it firsthand." Lord Master Hong said and then urge the High Lord to speak. Soonyoung listened as High Lord Hong explained everything and he couldn't help but feel shivers crawl up to his skin as soon he started talking about the dreams. He started to have flashbacks of it and he was so immersed that he didn't realized that he was shaking on his seat. 

"Soonyoung are you alright?" his fathers comforting arm was wrapped around his shoulders. Soonyoung started to calm down and that's when he realized he was shaking. 

"I-I had a similar dream just like they have." Soonyoung mumbled. His father went silent, in fact everybody in the room did.

"Me t-too" this time it was Chan, then a series of " me as well" and " so do I followed" coming from other high lords and lords. All of which coming from the once who were sent to look and destroy the source of the energy that the demon beasts were using.

"Well Wonwoo, what you said about it being something else can be a possibility." Lord Master Jeon commented whilst looking at his son as soon as the high lord finished talking.

"But it can also be just a distraction. Lilith is a cunning demon, one of the smartest you can say. She has not earned her title as one of the most feared spawns of hell if she doesn't play her game well." The older man continued.

"I totally agree with that. She definitely planned her appearance during the festival and I am sure she had planned it for a long time. So it is not a far fetch idea that she has also planted a spell that will let you have those dreams all together." Lord Master Lee added in agreement. Things started to be a bit chaotic as the lords started to voice out their own opinions about the issue that Soonyoung was having a hard time following them all.

"But the prophecy." The whole room went silent as Lord Master Xu said those three words in a low voice.

"Do you still remember what the prophet of the stars said?" the Lord Master asked, as he slowly let his gaze travel around the room.

"Bare as the pages of an unfinished book are the wings of the doves that shall finish a thousand old tale. A tale so old that a gift of the old times must be granted to each one of them." Soonyoung heard his father recalling the prophecy without fail. The lord masters started to look anxious as they let the new possibility sink in their consciousness.

"I think it will be best if we ask for the elders opinion. Old as they may be, they are still full of wisdom from ruling for years" Junghwan said as he slowly stood up and made his way to the window.

"And besides I am not sending my sons out there without making sure that this is not a hoax." Junghwan continued all the while gazing outside the ginormous window. The Lord Masters agreed with the proposition and decided to adjourn the meeting. The last thing Soonyoung knew was that each of the Lord Masters sent their most trusted messengers to request the presence of the elders.

**Facts about the Fic : Ages**

  * 95 line - are currently the oldest out of 13. At the begging of the fic they are 19 years old. They have been joining some of the assemblies in the courtroom when to governance and have been joining raids in the deeper parts of the shadow lands for a year.
  * 96 line - they are currently 17 but most of them are turning 18 in a few full moons (1 full moon = 1 month). They are almost done with their studies, once they are 18 they can officially join the assembly meetings.
  * 97 line - are currently 16 and still studying the art of governance and leadership but they are halfway through it.
  * 95 line - currently 15 and are taking serious training and studies with leadership and governance.
  * Chan - he just turned 14. This is the age of a noble where in they are proclaimed in the public as a high lord or a lord. Because Chan is just 14, he still exempted from sparrings but is required to study about governance and ruling.




	13. The Second Prophecy

Minghao - Middle Ground - Izare plateau

Minghao has finally been feeling wonderful these days. After the frightening events a few days ago when Lilith showed up, things seem to be going back to its normal routine. The said young man is lounging under the shade of the trees on their manor. He had his eyes closed and was listening passively to the soft chirping of birds. As the wind blew, Minghao hummed together with the music that the forest was playing. He was so immersed that he didn't notice the arrival of a boy not more than 7 years old if not for the ball that bounced right on his crotch. Minghao gulped in the manliest gasp that he can heave into his lungs as he scrambled up. The boy giggled as Minghao stumble on his feet.

"Child who let you in? Did you know that this place is forbidden for outsiders? This is no playground, a child like you should not be here. Go back to the common grounds now." Minghao, with his flushed face caused by a mixture of embarrassment and a slowly bubbling anger tried to shoo the child away. But the child only tilted his head and looked at him. An amused smile marring his face.

"I missed you" said the child. His innocent topaz eyes glinting as his gaze softly landed on the Middle grounder.

"You what?" Minghao was baffled, his anger slowly slipping out of him. He thought he might have heard it wrong, that is why he had to ask the child again.

"After all those years I thought you would change. It was foolish of me to think like that." The boy replied as if he didn't care about the elders question and Minghao couldn't help himself from uttering "what do you mean?"

"Of course, you would never and so will he and the rest of them." Still disregarding his question, the child continued and smiled fondly at Minghao. A smile full of love, adoration, sadness and longing. The said man was confused beyond the heavens as he looked at the boy. But as he reciprocated the soft gaze of the young child and looked at him straight to his eyes, something clicked.

"Wha-who are you?" Minghao stumbled on his words. He doesn't understand why, but those golden eyes felt familiar. 

"It's not important, my existence will only bring you nothing but pain. It will be best for you to not know me at all." The boy paused and started to lift his right hand. Minghao closed his eyes, from another perspective he might have looked pitiful. Cowering under the mere gestures of a child, but the middle grounder knew better. He knew that the child was far from normal. 

"However, I came to you to rely the message of the mighty one." The boy continued to explain the reason of his appearance all the while putting a spell on the ball that landed earlier on Minghao.

"Wh-who?" The Middle grounder asked. He knew about The Mighty One. He grew up reading only great things about him in the holy scriptures. So it made no sense that someone as powerful as The Mighty One had a message for him.

"The bearers of the golden feathers are the chosen doves that shall slay the cursed demon." As the golden ball started to float its way to the middle grounder, the child started to disappear in midair. His body started to become translucent and the last of his words were almost unheard for his voice started to vanish as well.

"Wait! What? I don't understand! Don't go!" Minghao tried to run to the child but the golden ball stopped him on his tracks. It opened up and instantly devoured Minghao with bright light.

As Minghao covered his eyes from the blinding light he heard the boys voice again. This time much clearer. "Don't worry, we can talk much longer next time." 

"No wait! Hold on please!" The middle grounder begs. For some strange reason, tears started to fall from his eyes. And no, it was not because of the intense light but of the sudden rush of sadness that he felt from departing with the boy.

"Please do tell them that I missed them as well. Especially uncle Seungkwan's hugs." The bright light intensifies and Minghao started to sob.

"Goodbye father, see you soon" and the ball of light went right inside his chest.

Minghao! Minghao! Dear boy wake up!" slowly opening his eyes, Minghao saw the worried face of his grandfather, Elder Xu. The old man was looking at him with eyes full of concern.

"What kind of dream did you had for you to sob like a mad man my dear child?" it was just then did the middle grounder realized that there were indeed fresh tracks of tears on his face.

"It's I-i" Minghao didn't know what got into him. He was sad. He was disappointed. He was miserable. All because of a child that he saw in his dream which he's also having a problem remembering as the moments pass. 

"It is alright my boy, breathe in." His grandfather said as he slowly pats his back.

"I don't know grandfather. I just feel extremely sad and, and I can't hardly remember what he looked like." The younger heaved as he wipes the tears away from his cheeks.

"Oh my dear boy, it is alright to miss someone. Do you know I still weep for your great great grandparents when I can hardly remember their faces as well." the old man replied as he hugged the younger in a strong yet calming embrace.

"But grandfather this is different" Minghao replied back as he tried to free himself from the elders tight hug.

"What do you mean it is something different?" This time it was his grandfather who moved a few distance to look at Minghao.

"It was strange grandfather. I met a child, a young boy to be exact, maybe his age is about seven blue moons but I'm not really sure." Minghao paused as he brushed the stray strands of hair on his face. He was sweating, which was strange because the first full moon of the clæn month just past signaling the arrival of winter. 

"He was wearing a brown hooded cape that covered half of his face. What I don't understand is that every time he looks at me directly, most of his facial features for some reason is covered in a black silhouette and all I can make out is the lower part of his nose down to his lips." Minghao continued as he unconsciously hugged himself. 

"What was also strange is that I can somehow see his eyes." The middle grounder paused again as the memories of the nostalgic pair of eyes flash on him.

"Has he told you something?" The old man asked with a scrutinizing look.

"He told me something about a message from the mighty one." The younger heard the old man gasp a little.

"What did he say?" His grandfather asked breathlessly. 

"Something about the bearers of the golden feathers and that they were the chosen doves that will slay the cursed demon. It was pretty vague I hardly understood anything he was saying." Minghao replied as he tried to recall everything that the young boy told him. 

His grandfather grasp on his shoulder started to loosen as the older tried to process the things that his grandchild said. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. A part of him was proud for his grandchild but the other part was deeply worried for him.

"After that did he mentioned more? Has he given you something?" Elder Xu asked, he wanted to make sure that everything is aligned and not just based on some hasty decisions that he made.

"Well he told me I haven't changed and so were the rest. I am so confused grandfather. It felt like we both knew each other for a very long time yet I couldn't remember him." Minghao grabbed a fistful of his hair and messes it up. He felt clueless and hollow, the sudden appearance of the boy woke a mysterious part in him that he didn't even knew.

"After he said that cryptic message from the mighty one, a white ball of light appeared and went right inside my chest moments before I heard your voice." The middle grounder then placed his hands on his chest. Surprisingly he felt something hard. Without thinking twice, he swiftly took out whatever was on his chest and got stunned from what he found.

"Wha-what is this?" There on his palm lies a golden pendant delicately shaped as a feather. It was hanging on a golden chain that was wrapped on his neck.

"It-it's a" It was impossible. He was speechless, he never owned something this simple yet intricately designed jewelry. What was strange was that he did not wore a necklace before strolling under the lush greenery of their manor. The only form of jewelry he was wearing before sitting under the tree was the ring that had his family's crest and the bracelet that Jun got him.

Minghao slowly gazed up to look at his grandfather. He doesn't know what he was expecting from the older when he looked at him, but as their eyes met all he saw is a mixture of emotions that neither of them can explain.

_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * Blue Moon - happens only once a every year. The blue moon appears only in the first day of tye year. It is used as a mark when celebrating the new year since the appearance of the blue moon is always accurate.
  * Age - the age of a person is counted through the number of blue moons that happens in their lifespan plan plus their birth month. This form of measurement is applicable in the three realms.
  * Clæn month - is equivalant to february in the gregorian calendar.




	14. The Assembly at Mt. Medius

_**Chan - Central Council room - Mt. Medius** _

Chan tried to take bigger steps as the men ahead of him, namely his father and older brother made their way to the Central Council room. There was a sudden urgent call that came from elder Kwon, seeing the old man bolted out of their mansion two hours after arriving and didn't came back, Chan knew even in his young age that something must be up, and although he was still kind of perplexed from the strange dream he had, he still bolted up from his bed and followed the two older men. 

Not even waiting for the guards designated in guarding the council room to open the door, his father opened the large and heavy wooden doors of the room by himself. Letting himself in, he gestured at Chan and Soonyoung to come inside. 

Inside the room Chan was greeted by familiar faces. He felt at ease to see Junhui and Minghao and was even more delighted to meet again the youngest of the Choi brothers. The people inside the room bowed their heads to greet them and they bowed theirs back to show respect.

Looking around, Chan tried to take in the things he saw in the room. The things inside were mostly made of wood, from the furniture to the floor and walls. There were a number of quills and ink bottles together with a stack of parchment in every edge of each table. "Probably there for note taking during assemblies" Chan thought. There was also an elevated space in the farther most right with elegant looking chairs lined up with one another.

The chairs and tables that were on the sawed-off part of the room were aligned in a curved manner, causing the younger middle grounder to make a conclusion that the large space in the middle is left just in case one needs to stand in the middle to present something or just want to get their point across. Far back was a decent sized fireplace enough to make the room warm during assemblies in the middle of the cold winters.

Chan followed his brother and made their way to the fourth table near the middle where he can already see his father grabbing a chair to sit on. As the youngest Kwon situated himself comfortably, he took another glance around the vicinity. Some of the houses are still not present considering that they came an hour and a half early.

Looking around, the young middle grounder glanced at the Choi's. They were seated in the ninth table in the left. Chan threw another glance at Hansol which the older gladly returned with a small smile. Then he proceeds to mouth out "do you know what's happening?" to the older which the other replied with a curt shake of his head. The nether then replied back by mouthing out "me either" to the middle grounder and proceeded to poke his older brother who was sitting right beside him as well.

Since Hansol is bothering his brother, Chan also decided to divert his attention to the other people in the room. There, his eyes landed on his Jun and Minghao hyung.

Both were huddled together near the farthest large window to the right. From Chan's point of view, it looked like Jun was comforting a somehow bothered Minghao. They were not talking, they weren't even exchanging glances with each other but Chan knew that the two had a deeper connection that no one would understand.

A few moments passed and the double wooden doors burst open again and came in the three main houses of the cloud denizens all bright and sparkly according to Chan's opinion. 

Everybody greeted them as they entered the room the same way as they greeted the Kwon's earlier. The cloud denizens made their way to the tables in the right with the Yoon's being the farthest facing the Choi's, followed by the Hong's and lastly by the Lee's.

The young middle grounders eyes followed them as they walked to their seats. Their blond and silver locks bouncing as they walk with elegance and Chan couldn't help but wonder how they keep up with the fact that they always need to walk with poise and refinement. One example is Jisoo. He is a perfect picture of a gentle and graceful man that even in the middle of slashing a demon beast throat the gracefulness still sticks to him. Also Seungkwan, a classy man with a kind heart. When Chan first met him, he thought he looked like the legendary angels of love, the cherubs of god. But then the image of him took a slight change as the droplets of blood covered him little by little. He still looked like an angel from the youngers point of view, but instead of bringing love, he looked more like the angel of death. He was still full of elegance though.

Then from his peripheral, Chan saw the present heads gathered around in one corner. They all greeted each other with warm smiles and tight hugs. It was kind of unfamiliar to the young middle grounder for he has never seen his father interact with the other family heads in such a brotherly manner other than the Wen and Xu.

With the young one not hearing anything from the elders conversation, he decided to take a look around again. He watched as Seungkwan gracefully made his way to Hansol whilst carrying a small weaved basket. The two then started to talk animatedly as Hansol started to look at the baskets content.

"But hyung can't Seungkwan and I really cannot join the raid with you?. Chan then heard Seokmin whine at his older brother who was sitting together with the eldest sons of the Yoon and Hong. He was quickly dismissed by his older brother with a curt "no" which caused him to pout in an instant.

"And besides we won't be actively joining the raid Seokminnie, we're only there for additional support." Yoon Jeonghan replied as he tied his silver hair with a very rare elastic onyx silk band.

"Here, how about you just study for your next governance trial and I'll make you some laxus tonic to help you relax when we come back." Chan heard Jisoo offered. The other male immediately nodded his head in agreement and sat back on his chair like a contented child.

"Wow, already brewing a laxus tonic I see, Seok is a lucky man." Jeonghan remarked as he and the older Lee snickered at Jisoo.

"Oh Jeonghan, you know very well that laxus tonics are brewed for everybody and not just for your other half. How about you explain to me why are you wearing a proposal band and who gave it? For some reason, High Lord Choi fell out of his own seat on the other side of the table causing for Hansol to pause his chat with Seungkwan and pat his older brothers back.

Going back to the astrals side of the table, the middle grounder saw how High Lord Lee snickered whilst High Lord Hong commented "I see" repeatedly as he nodded in agreement.

Before the silver haired astral can refute, Chan jolted as the wooden door once again suddenly opened revealing the rest of the main nether houses, Jeon and Kim. They were greeted the same way like the others as they enter the room. They made their way to where the Choi's are seated and just like the rest, the Lord Masters of both houses made their way immediately to the other Lord Masters leaving their sons on their seats.

A few moments pass by again and the horns that signals the arrival of the elders were heard from the outside. The Lord Masters all made their way to their seats and waited as the elders entered the room one by one.

"Thank you for responding to our calls immediately, we are of knowledge that this is way earlier than the promised time that the assembly should happen, however there had been an important matter that we believe must be discussed as soon as possible." Elder Jeon spoke as soon as everybody were seated.

"We also know that most of you, especially the young ones are wondering why we called you all in such a rush when you were the ones who summoned us. Aren't we right?" This time it was Elder Lee who spoke all the while glancing around the room. Chan nodded unconsciously at that, feeling at edge now that the realization that something severe must have really happened for them to be called.

"Well, we summoned you all here because something earlier in the day happened that might help humanity to overcome once again the threat that just risen and we will all need your help, including the young ones." elder Lee finished. Chan then heard quiet murmurs around the room but they were not loud enough to be understood.

"As we have all seen and feared Lilith appeared once again. Although not fully free from her chains, that demon is clearly about to break free with the help of her demonic votary, especially if given more time." It was elder Xu who spoke this time around as he slowly made his way to the open space in the middle of the room.

"These past weeks most of us spent countless of hours discussing about how we could stop her and frankly, I would say none of it can assure our safety." The older man continued as he looked at each and every man on the room. 

"Most of us forgot to ask help from God in concentration of looking for a way to stop Lilith. It was foolish and disrespectful of us all to do something like that. But our ever loving and forgiving God never stopped looking after us. It is a shame that even after neglecting him, he still sent one of his trusted messengers and bless us with his grace." As the old man spoke, Chan couldn't stop himself from feeling guilty. It indeed did not cross his mind to ask help from their god, how disrespectful of him he thought.

"I deeply apologize for interrupting you elder Xu, but what do you mean?" The young middle grounder jolted a little on his seat when his father's voice boomed all throughout the room in question of the elders statement.

"Earlier this morning, the cursed son, one of God's most trusted messenger went down and visited us from the heavens. With him he brought down a message and a gift. The message is for everybody, yet as for the gift, it was only for the chosen heroes of God." Numerous murmurs were once again heard bouncing on the walls of the room before Lord Master Kim asked to clarify if they have all heard it correctly.

"The chosen heroes?"

"Yes, the chosen heroes. There will be a new league of chosen heroes that will finally defeat Lilith just like a thousand years ago." The elder answered in a very convinced tone.

"But how can you be so sure elder? I mean, I apologize if I sound very doubtful but how can you all be so sure about that? Lord Master Kim probed further.

"Lord Master Kim, here in this room is one of the chosen heroes of God. It was also through him where the cursed son delivered the message." The elder calmly answer whilst his gaze slowly traveling to a certain direction.

"Xu Minghao my dear child, would you please stand up and tell them what the young boy in your dreams told you? and so Chan listened to everything that his Minghao hyung was saying. He didn't understand what the message meant though, so he still had no idea how the elders concluded that his Minghao hyung was one of the chosen. 

"And then I found this. I remembered only wearing a bracelet and our emblem but never this necklace. There was even no hook in the chains of the necklace for me to even wear it on and off. It just magically appeared after that strange dream." Chan watched as the older middle grounder fumbled with the collar of his shirt and pulled out a golden chain with a single pendant that looked like a tiny feather.

"Before any of you decides that this might just be a coincidence, do not worry for we have already looked upon it." Elder Yoon added after Minghao showed the pendant.

Chan was speechless, he was trembling a little on his seat as the realization hit him. The stunned middle grounder blindly traced his neck down to his chest as he started to feel an unfamiliar weight. Then he felt it, there on his neck, the metal chains hidden behind the layers of his shirt. He didn't know what to feel to be honest. He knows he should be proud of himself that god chose him to be one of the vessels that will bring goodness to humanity, but he also felt scared. He doesn't have much knowledge in fighting, he might just end up as an extra baggage to the other chosen ones.

**_Facts about the Fic:_ **

  * Mt. Medius - is the mountain found between the three realms. This mountain has been the meeting ground of the nobles and was even said to be the first meeting place of the first heroes when Lilith started her first rampage. The once secluded musty old caves were beautified by the nobles the nobles that held their assemblies after the years that followed.
  * Laxus tonic - is a well known medical drink that originated from the astral realm. It is mostly brewed by a lover who is waiting home for their other half who has spent all day tirelessly working for their family, thus the reason why giving someone a Laxus tonic after a tiring day means you are either married or betrothed to that person.
  * Onyx silk band - is a very rare silk weaved from precious onyx stones found in the deep mines of the nether realm. Only the richest nobles, mostly the main noble houses can afford this special cloth. Due to its rarity, the silk is only used in very special occasions mostly in weddings and is gifted by the once proposing for the betrothal. Thus, is called a proposal band.




	15. The Sinned Son

**_Mingyu - Central Council Room - Mt. Medius_ **

Mingyu was speechless. He paled at his seat as he watched Minghao hold the pendant that was hooked to a golden chain. He couldn't believe it, or more like refuse to believe it. There were so many things running around his mind, so many questions trapped around his head and his brain is having its sweet time processing it.

"I have a confession to make," Mingyu saw how Junhui suddenly bolted up from his seat rigidly. He had his right hand raised up in the air in hopes of getting everybody's attention.

"I dreamt about this last night. It is about a young toddler, his age is about 4 or 5 blue moons." Junhui paused a little as he looked around and heaved a deep breath in. 

"I was watching him play in a garden with his toys while I sat under a tree. He called me something but I couldn't make it out, then he ran to me and told me he had a gift." Mingyu watched as Junhui fumble with the neckline of his clothing. 

"He took out a golden necklace and made me wear it." A series of collective gasp were heard around the room as he took the necklace out and started showing it to everyone. 

"After fixing the necklace I looked down to his direction to thank him, but the only thing I saw was darkness. So I started to run to look for him until I heard someone on my door and woke up. Thinking that it was just a strange dream I decided to change my clothes. That is when I realized that I still have this."

The few moments that followed were the parade of the noble sons of each family confessing that they have experienced a really strange dream about a glowing ball of light, only to wake up the next morning wearing a golden necklace with a single feather pendant. In fact, Mingyu was the seventh one to confess after Wonwoo. The youngest son of the noble Kwon's was the last one to tell his story and showed his necklace making them all thirteen in total. Mingyu saw how elder Choi whispered something to elder Lee with the latter nodding and then whispered to elder Kwon who was beside him. 

Elder Yoon then stood up from his seat after the youngest Lee finished speaking. Mingyu watched as the old man made slow steps to the youngest one in the room. Half a meter apart, the old man reached out his right hand and asked Kwon Chan to hold his. The look of pure confusion written in Chan's face was so obvious, and yet he took the elders hands pensively. 

Mingyu watched in curiosity as the middle grounder unconsciously closed his eyes the moment he held the elders hand. A few moments of silence then pass when the elder was suddenly thrown away from the boy like there was some invisible energy that repulsed him.

The old man heaved in long breaths as if he was drowned. His house, the entirety of the Yoon's was right at his side to help him get back on his feet. Mingyu watched in shock as Yoon Jeonghan scrambled to his feet to heal his grandfather while Lord Master Hong assisted the young Kwon. "What happened?" Asked Lord Master Kwon, agitation obviously laced with his voice. 

"The boy, he asked me to look into another dream of his whilst I was looking into his newest. He told me that oddly, the other high lords and lords have also experienced an eerily similar dream like his. And so, I looked into it." The old man paused and had a coughing fit before continuing. "But that-that was no dream! It was a memory and I'm sure of it." Another bout of collective gasps was heard once again.

"Grandfather is it by any chance that the dream you looked into had barren lands and destroyed towns?" Mingyu heard a tremble in Jeonghan's voice and the elders eyes slowly grew bigger.

"I apologize my dear child, the memory seemed like it had a barrier so I barely saw anything." Elder Yoon replied as he leaned his weight to Jeonghan. "Just the boy gliding freely with the wind. But there was something strange." The old man paused as he looked around the room.

"His eyes were brown and the clothes he wore looked like that of the ancient perunts".

How can that be? Never in my lifetime have I let my children wear a nomads clothing, and besides the old tribe of perunts are long gone. They have already perfectly integrated themselves in the entirety of the three realms. Lord Master Kwon asked. His voice slightly raised a pitch.

That is why I thought it was strange. It is the boys memory, that I am sure of. However, even if the person looked exactly like him, there were still some differences. the old man had another coughing fit worrying the people around the room as he can barely stand if not for the support of his grandson.

What if we seek help from the prophets? Is there a way for us to call for their presence? Lord Master Kim asked as he gaze through the windows of the assembly room.

It is not impossible. However, this will include a lot of us, including the children. Summoning a spirit prophet takes a lot of energy. The elders might not have the enough capacity of energy to do such task. So we will need every single one here in this room to channel their energy in order for it to work." Lord Master Yoon answered.

Well I believe it is best that we should take a break if we ought to do that, Elder Yoon is not in a very good condition. We can continue this later after our respective dinners. Elder Hong suggested. 

* * *

  
Mingyu for the second time that day walked his way in the brightly lit hallways of the secret hall of Mt. Medius to the assembly room. It was already in the deep hours of the night when he and his father ventured out to the mountain. After their family dinner, Mingyu waited anxiously for what was about to happen inside his room, he didn't even know his grandfather went ahead to do some preliminary preparations together with the other elders.

The moment his father opened the door, Mingyu was greeted with familiar anxious faces of the people he was with earlier. Then, he noticed an empty granite basin in the middle of the room. It was placed right on top of an expertly carved out marble table. Right on top of it were three unlit torches, vertically perched to face one another. It was his first time seeing it and he couldn't help himself but wonder how it could help them talk to the spirit prophets.

"Hyung!" called out Mingyu to the oldest son of the Choi's as he distracted himself from staring at the strange object in the middle of the room. The older however did not reply, instead he kept on looking outside the window of the assembly room.

"Hyung!" This time Mingyu made sure to pat the elders shoulder. "Is there something out there?" Mingyu asked the startled man.

"Oh uh, nothing. I was just fascinated by the moon." The older answered as he slowly walked away from the window.

"The moon? But you were looking down?" The younger continued to query.

"The moonlight! Yes, the moonlight! I was just fascinated by how the moon can easily beautify the things its light hit." Seungcheol replied with a slightly alarmed tone laced with his voice. He was internally hoping that the younger will buy his excuse.

"Well I do agree with that. I mean, I would have really marveled with the scenery outside on our way here if not for the nervousness that I feel right now." Mingyu babbled as Seungcheol slowly pushed him away from the window, missing the opportunity to see the hovering figures of the five young cloud denizen nobles covered in sparkling moondust to gather more energy from the moon.

"Aren't you nervous hyung? Are you not afraid of what the spirit prophets going to say?" the younger nether dweller continued to babble as they sat themselves on the Choi's designated seat.

"Well, to be honest Mingyu I am. I am scared, especially if the dream that we saw is not really a dream but a memory." Mingyu saw the hurt plastered in the elders face. Something bad might have happened to a very important thing or person for Seungcheol. In fact, Mingyu can definitely understand him. That nightmare was too horrifying for him and he would like for it to remain that way instead of it being a memory. The image of a dying Wonwoo, all covered in blood with a big gash on his chest made him feel different kinds of emotions all at once. Waking up to the feelings of sadness, longing, anger, remorse, and many more got Mingyu bolting out of his room like a feral hunting hound. Now thinking that it really happened in real life is urging Mingyu to want to punch his own face. What was he doing? Why did he let it happen to Wonwoo?

The nether was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice that he has become unresponsive to the conversation that he was having with Seungcheol earlier. “Hey, are you alright?

Wonwoo's voice pulled Mingyu back to the world of the living as the younger jolted on his seat. The older nether kept running his soft hands up and down in the youngers back in an attempt to loosen his nerves.

"He's just probably nervous about what we might find out tonight." Seungcheol supplied as Mingyu is still speechless.

Wonwoo seated himself on the armrest of the chair that Mingyu was sitting at and swiped the stray hair on the youngers face. "Well aren't we all?" Wonwoo suddenly replied to Seungcheol's answer earlier with his gaze still concentrated on Mingyu's hair that doesn't seem to stay in place. The large wooden doors then bursted open and Mingyu couldn't be more thankful for that. If not for the sudden intrusion, Wonwoo might have seen him blush just because he was brushing his hair. "That would've been embarrassing" Mingyu thought.

"Wow, aren't they all bedazzled." Mingyu was mildly shocked when Hansol spoke and appeared out of nowhere. He was now standing beside his brother with eyes glued to the sparkling cloud denizens who marched in one by one.

"That's moondust Hansol. We all know that astrals takes a little more time to absorb energy when it's dark unlike us, and since they are also helping tonight, they need to gather and convert as much energy as they can. That is why they need a catalyst to speed the absorption up, and the reason why they sprinkled themselves with moon dust." Wonwoo answered whilst leaning on Mingyu to steady himself on the armrest.

Mingyu was feeling flustered by Wonwoo's actions. Mingyu thought that it was absurd and illogical but he couldn't help it. These past few days, the only thing that runs through his head is the thought of the older man. After his horrifying nightmare, he just couldn't resist himself from thinking of ways to protect the man resulting for him to being hyper aware of everything his hyung does. From the way the older calls him or just by the simple act of waving at him makes Mingyu feel jittery.

"Oh! So it's like the sun juice that we drink." Hansol replied, Wonwoo nodded, and Mingyu was just thankful nobody saw his reddening face.

"Well I think they look goo-." Hansol was not able to finish what he was about to say, for the signal that the elders are coming alerted every single person in the room. Everybody made their way to their seats and waited for the older men to come in.

Greetings were made and everybody were settled. Elder Jeon, the oldest of them all stood up and declared that they will call the messenger whom they thought to have brought the message himself, the Sinned son.

Elders Jeon, Wen, and Yoon stood up and aligned themselves in front of each torch that Mingyu saw earlier. They reached their hands and chanted a spell from an ancient language that Mingyu was sure he's ought to study yet. As the chanting of the spell went on, embers of different colors slowly showed up at each ends of the torches. Red for elder Jeon, Green for elder Wen, and Blue for elder Yoon. They continued to chant the spell until the embers turned into fire and that is when Mingyu realized that other than the mystical torches, all the lights in the room were out. With the fire brightly burning, elders Choi, Kwon, and Lee slowly placed their hands respectively onto the marble basin and started to recite the same chant as well. But instead of it making the fire bigger, small pieces of the burning torches fell off into the granite basin underneath it. Mingyu gasp, for instead of seeing a colorful dance of fire, a sliverish liquid started to fill the basin.

As the liquid slowly filled the basin to the brim, the remaining elders, namely elder Xu, Kim, and Hong held hands and circled around the basin. They also started to chant the same spell together with the other elders. As they joined the chant, the fire of the torches did not intensify nor it did any change with the appearance of the liquid in the basin but instead, it slowly revealed a small opening on the top of the room exposing the basin alone to direct moonlight.

With the moonlight directly hitting the liquid, it looked like it was glowing. The contents inside the basin swirled softy as if some force was stirring it slowly. Looking around, Mingyu saw the Lord Masters of the astrals move forward. Each of them were holding large scepters equivalent to their height. They looked at each other before nodding in a silent agreement.  
"It is time" Lord Master Hong softly said as they looked around the room and signaled the other Lord Masters to brace themselves. Then, with a loud thud the dark cold floor of the room lit up. Ancient runes from what Mingyu thinks is from an old tribe once known as the spæheil appeared. He watched as his father and the other Lord Masters step on the runes. The lights coming off form the runes immediately intensified from the energy of the Lord Masters.

Then Lord Master Kim looked back at him with a soft comforting smile. "Step into the runes son, then concentrate in powering up the runes." He instructed.

Mingyu wearily stepped in, this was his first time joining a real ritual. Rituals in the nether realm are only done by seasoned healers or trained warriors due to the fact that sharing energies is not an easy thing for nethers to do. It also did not help to boost his confidence when he saw how easy it was for Lee Jihoon and the rest of the astrals to give off their energy like they join rituals every day.

Mingyu closed his eyes and concentrated in giving off his energy. He tried really hard to expel it out but there was none. He opened his eyes feeling worthless about himself.

Mingyu opened his eyes to his smiling father. "It is alright Mingyu. I know it is not easy. I've been through this as well. Just think of it like you want to share your energy to someone important to you."

And Mingyu did so. He closed his eyes and thought about someone. Someone he deeply cherishes, someone he wouldn't mind sharing his energy even if it caused his life. Slowly a familiar face morphed in his mind. The sharp jaw and feline like eyes so beautifully distinct gave him the enough encouragement that in just a flash Mingyu's energy flowed out like rushing current in a waterfall. 

"Magnificent Mingyu" he heard his father softly but proudly say. He slowly opened his eyes to see the runes beneath and near him glowing brighter than before. He felt proud of himself and tried to look on Wonwoo's way only to see that the other man is now just idly standing on a rune brighter than his. Mingyu is in awe. Wonwoo is always astonishing like that.

His train of thoughts suddenly got disrupted when the runes lights suddenly danced with different colors as the last noble, the youngest Kwon was able to share his energy. It continued to change and change for a few moments before a strong gust of wind that blew out of nowhere came and extinguished the fire from the torches. Everything went dark as the runes light disappeared and the moonlight suddenly gone as well, none in the room spoke. It was all silence.

Then in the middle of the room, just right above the basin encircled by the torches where the moonlight once directly hit, a small ball of light flickered. Mingyu almost choke from all the nerves he was feeling.

The small ball of light slowly grew bigger, until it revealed to be an oil lamp carried by a small child who has his head bowed and was wearing a big straw hat and a white nightgown. The elders and Lord Masters bowed to the child and Mingyu followed even though he was confused with whoever the child was.

"Please do not bow so respectfully on a sinner like me. I don't deserve it." The child spoke. He slowly raised his head revealing the smooth face of an innocent boy, yet even though his looks are of purity of a lamb. His eyes spoke something more, of sadness, of longing, of regret.

"A sinner like me should not be here for I am still being punished, but praise God for his mercy! He allowed me to once again descend to your realms and answer your question. So, listen carefully."

A moment of silence filled the room.

"Ye who holds the golden feathers are the ones destined to send the devil, Lilith to her resting place. Fulfill your destiny for the whole of humanity rest in your hands."

Another moment of silence wrapped the whole room.

"But how do we do it? How do we vanquish a demon as strong as her?" Seungcheol suddenly asked, he sounded helpless and Mingyu couldn't blame him. They were nothing but children. "We are nothing but ordinary?" The older added with a small voice. The boy only smiled at the remark, looking amused at the gloomy stature of Seungcheol.

"Please believe me when I say you are more than ordinary. I've seen it with my own two eyes." Then the runes started to glow once again and the clouds that covered the moon started to disappear. The image of the little boy slowly faded.

"I must go now for my time is up. The chosen heroes must all go and look for the shards of Lilith's soul. You need to destroy them all in order to kill her. Do not fear for God will be with you. Goodbye." The boy then vanished from their sight, only leaving nothing but ashes in the empty basin. The candles that once light up the room are now back and fully lit. From a person's point of view who did not participate in the ritual, it would look like nothing had happened.

But for Mingyu and the rest, the future is as bleak as the clouds that hover over the shadow lands.

**_Facts about the Fic:_ **

  * Perunt - an ancient nomadic hunting tribe from the southwest of the borders of the realm. Before Liliths rampage, this tribe is one of the most powerful and feared by many. Demon beasts of different kinds even flee the moment they catch a glimps of their spears. Their tribe is consisted of brave and agile hunters and skillful blacksmiths and weapon makers. But after Lilith started to kill for fun and almost wiped out the entirety of the tribe, they have slowly settled down and mixed themselves with the other tribes that seeked refuge in the dense forest of what is known today as the three realms of the cloud denizen, middle ground, and nether releam. They are believed to be one the ancestors of the people from the middle ground.
  * Spæheil - unlike the Perunts, they are a secluded yet peaceful tribe that once lived in the northwest mountain cliffs beyond the border. They are widely known for their abilities to control and use their energies to heal. Just like the Perunts though, they also fled the comfort of their mountain cliffs of what is now known as the Black rock and made themselves home in the mountainous regions of the three realm where most of the cloud denizens now live.
  * Mt. Medius - while known to be the first meeting ground of the first heroes, the normal citizens did not know that the nobles still use it as a meeting ground for important and confidential assemblies. The outside of it doesn't seem to be guarded, but once inside, anybody who dares to come through without any reason will be questioned and maybe punished.




	16. The Adventures Beginning

**Jihoon - Central Council Room - Mt. Meduis**

Jihoon felt like puking. He felt his dinner that was supposed to have been digested hours ago greet his throat. It was not a pleasant feeling, just like the news that was brought to them by the spirit prophet moments ago. He somehow expected this though. The moment elder Yoon finding out about Chan's dream being a memory instead, he knew things are about to turn into an entirely different route. To a road they haven't and will never venture if not for dire situations like the extinction of the entire human race. 

The entire council room fell silent, no one dared to utter a word after the prophet disintegrated into the air. Tension wrapped the room, that was until Chan started to loudly chase his breath. The young boy was hyperventilating, and almost fell on the floor if not for his father and brother helping him out. Lord Master Hong was immediately by his side to heal and calm him down until his breathing even out. But even with all their efforts, the young boy remained pale and shivering from nervousness and Jihoon understands him. 

Everybody understands him.

Everyone was scared, the gravity of what was expected with them was too much for young boys like them. "How on the realms are a group of thirteen teens supposed to kill a demon who had no qualms in wiping out a whole tribe in just one click of a finger" Jihoon thought as he silently looks for a chair that his grandfather can use to sit.

"I will do it! The younger ones can stay. It will be dangerous for them to go and look for the shards of "Lilith's soul." Jihoon heard Choi Seungcheol's voice boom around the room. "Give me a legion father and I shall lead them. You've trained me long and hard enough to lead one" Seungcheol said. He was sweating profusely and obvious fear marred his face, yet he stood for all of them and Jihoon was in awe. No wonder Jeonghan, even with all his might deny it, is obviously smitten by him. "And I promise to take good care of my men just like you told me too." Seungcheol added looking at his fathers way.

Walking to the left side of the room where a bottle of cold essence of phyra sits. Lord Master Choi first poured himself a drink, then downed it in one gulp. You will not do such thing Seungcheol! I will not allow any of my sons to kill themselves for that demon!". Lord Master Choi replied, his voice was deeper than it usually was, entailing that the argument is done and must never be spoken.

"But then who will father? It is not the Lord Masters nor the Elders. If it is not going to be us, then who will?" the older man did not reply and Jihoon was sure he was doing his best to control himself and not lash out at his son.

"You always told me that in order to rule I must learn to be selfless for my people. I am being selfless for the whole of humanity now father." Jihoon watched as Seungcheol questioned his father. It was admirable how the man had the guts to stand up against his own father.

"I will not lose a son!" Jihoon shivered from the sheer loudness of the older mans voice. This was the first time he saw any of the Lord Masters lose their composure.

"Then would you rather let thousands of people die? Will your conscience ever let you sleep at night father? Because I know mine won't." Lord Master Choi did not reply again, instead he took the bottle of liquor and directly drank from it. Silence once again enveloped the room. "If I can't have your blessing, then I will leave without it." Seungcheol added, breaking the silence that was chocking all of them. He then started to fix himself, ready to leave the premises of the room.

"I will go with him." Jihoon almost lost his balance. He knew Jeonghan had long been harboring feelings for the nether dweller but he did not expect it to be this deep.

"Jeonghan!" Lord Master Yoon called out breathlessly. He was trying to shush his soft-spoken son, but Jihoon knows better. He knew how stubborn and persistent the older was if he set an eye on something.

"He is right father. If it is not us then who will fight for the people? The tragedy that happened thousands of years ago will only repeat itself if all we do is stand here and argue about who goes and who doesn't." Jeonghan bowed his head and bit his lower lip, a clear sign that he was doubting himself. Jihoon all but wanted to call his name and pull him out of the illusion that he was in. An illusion that they can ever defeat Lilith. But then Jeonghan raised his head, his eyes full of hope and confidence. "There is a reason why God chose us, one of them is that he believes in us. So, we also must believe in ourselves as well." Jihoon felt like he was dunked in a tub full of icy water face first. The realization that God chose him as one of his thirteen heroes has finally integrated itself in every nook of his brain.

"Father, I know you are just worried. I too am worried for ourselves. But what is the point in fearing for our future if Lilith decides to kill us all today." Jeonghan's voice was softer this time, yet it still had that convincing tone. He first let his gaze land at his father then let it travel around the room.

"I also agree with Seungcheol and Jeonghan, I am sorry father but I just can't bear to think that thousands of innocent people will die just because of my cowardice." Jihoon remained silent by Jisoo's remark, he was slowly contemplating his decisions. He wanted to fight for his people, he wanted to stand up for them and save them from Lilith. But will they stand a chance? Or are they going to be just another heap of dead bodies that her demon beast can feast on.

"I-i would like to go with them too." Kwon Chan spoke, stuttering his words as he stood up. He has long ceased catching his breath and he doesn't seem to be shivering, though he still looks a bit pale. Everybody was shocked with his remark. His father was speechless, jaw slacked and was not able to form any coherent word. "The hyungs are right, we can't just watch and let the people die and besides, did you forgot what the prophet said before he disappeared?" "Do not fear, for God will be with you."Jihoon recalled in answer to the youngers question. 

"If Chan is going with them, then I will to." Standing up abruptly, Kwon Soonyoung is the one who spoke this time. He looked at his father with eyes full of intensity and determination. "I will never, ever allow my younger brother to go out there and endanger himself while I sit here comfortably and wait for his return. If a young boy like him has enough determination to face Lilith, then the more should we!" Jihoon couldn't agree better. Kwon Soonyoung was right, they shouldn't let their fear consume them. He knew the other man was recklessly brave, but this time he has a point.

"Likewise, if this is the destiny that God chose for us. Then I will be more than honored to take it." Jeon Wonwoo agreed, whilst calmly seated in a finely cushioned chair.

"Take me with you as well." Jihoon, in his entire existence did not expect that there will come a day that he will offer himself to go out willingly and hunt a demon that almost wiped up humanity thousands of years ago. "I want to help, and I can't help if I just stay here and do nothing." After hearing the other younger nobles, Jihoon has finally come to his senses. His resolve is full and he had no plans of backing out. God chose him, this was the destiny God wanted for him. Unexpectedly his younger brother, Seokmin followed. Jihoon was sure that even if he didn't choose to come, his younger brother will still do. The reasons are simple. Seokmin has a really soft heart and Jisoo.

Jihoon glanced up to look at his fathers face, expecting an angry and disappointed reaction. Yet, what he saw is the forlorn smile of the older man. He was proud for the both of them for giving themselves up to save the people, but he was sad that he might lose both of his sons in the process.

The nobles of Kim, Wen, and Xu together with Seungkwan and the youngest Choi also decided that they will go and look, completing the thirteen heroes that God initially chosen. The Lord Masters and Elders cannot oppose their decision, for they know it was the right choice.

"Bringing a legion with you is not the best option, it will only attract more demon beast and will alert Lilith that we are doing something to stop her." Lord Master Choi, after his outburst finally spoke. His tone was low and grim. 

"I do agree, I believe it is best that we keep it low. We can easily make a move if Lilith and her votary of demons are not tailing us. It will also be safer for all of you." Lord Master Kim agreed and soon everybody in the room seemed to.

"Well, it is nice to know that there is a safer way for the children to travel, but to where should they start looking?" and just as Lord Master Wen was asking, the feather pendant that was dangling on Chan's neck suddenly glowed. Through the light, it showed a river. A river of nothing but grime and death. A river where the water that flows in it mixes with the essence of hell. A river so black and poisonous it can kill a fully grown man in just a few drops. Jihoon held his breath as he looked at the Syn river.

Everyone was looking closely at the image of the black water and the riverbanks beside it, when a green light suddenly glowed at the bottom of the river. Then the image suddenly disappeared, leaving everybody to question if it was a sign to where a shard of Lilith's soul lies. In the end, everybody agreed that the image has meaning behind it. Whether it had the shards of Lilith's soul or not, it probably meant something if it appeared out of the feather pendant.

Following the assembly, the thirteen heroes did not waste their time to look for the shards and decided to venture out the moment the sun appeared in the heavens. They all decided that it will be best if they will meet at the northwest borders of the three realms. The river runs a long way, probably way beyond the Black Rock and this direction is where the tower of stacked rocks that they saw in the riverbank from the image can be located. "That must have been an altar of one of the river gods of an ancient tribe known as the Rayan" said Lord Master Xu when they saw it the night before. 

The sons bid teary goodbyes from their mothers and brought the tight hugs that their fathers gave them before departing. Even Seungcheol and his father who had a heated debate at the assembly said that his father almost sobbed when they departed from their mansion as they fly their way to the dark entrance of the shadow lands.

_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * Phyra - a smooth alcoholic drink that can only be found in the three realms. It is very similar to wine, only that the color of it is brown and has tiny bits of seeds in it that when fermented reacts with the alcohol of the juices causing it to glow. The brighter the seeds glow inside the bottle, the stronger the alcohol it contains.
  * Syn river - before Lilith's rampage, the the Syn river used to be a busy place for traders of different tribes who trade their goods with the tribesmen of Rayan. It was used as a port and a market place for tribesmen and travelers, resulting for the tribe to be prosperous. Because of its many use for the people of Rayan, some tribesmen started to believe that there is some entity live in the river that is blessing them. They started to make totem poles to pray for the river god that they believe to be lurking under the deep waters and at some point started to kidnap unsuspecting travelers, mostly young women and little girls to sacrifice for their god. Due to the hatred of the souls who died in the river, Lilith was able to easily open a portal connecting to hell. The portal served as one of the main gates for Lilith's demons. After the thirteen heroes defeated Lilith, the portal closed. However there were still remaining cracks in the portal where the essence of hell seeps out therefore making the water black and poisonous.
  * Rayan - a tribe a pagans who believed and worshiped the water god that lives in the deepest and darkest part of the Syn river. They were rumored to be kidnapping young women and little girls to sacrifice to their god by letting them bleed slowly whilst tied into a plank until they die. They then throw their dead bodies in the water for their god to consume. Albeit their continuous efforts of denying such act, people started to stop coming to the Syn river. They were afraid about the rumors and feared for their safety. Meanwhile, the tribe of Rayan started to seclude themselves from shame and poverty. They slowly started to live in hiding and abandoned their huts and temples in the river banks of Syn. During Lilith's rampage, they also did not evacuate to the three realms and was believed that they continued living in the demon beast infested shadow lands.




	17. The Stalein

_**Hansol - Weeping Woodlands - Shadow Lands** _

Hansol yawned again for what feels like the umpteenth time while perched atop dorogon, his golden winged salamander. It was early in the morning and the sun is not even seen in the horizon when he and Seungcheol rode out to the northwest borders. He was still sleepy and would like to complain about it, but then remembered that what he was doing was for the safety of his people and not because his brother just wanted to train him.

"Hyung are we close?" The younger nether asked. To be honest, he hasn't been in this part of the borders. The north has been relatively calm and not much demon beast has caused any problems that needed the actual nobles assistance.

"Just a little more. We're very close now, just try not to fall off of dorogon." His older brother answered snickering. They were high up the sky with the sun barely peeking the horizon, a few feet above the tallest trees. Hansol can already sniff out the rancid smell of the shadow lands so that means they're probably close.

Seungcheol then suddenly dove down to the dense forest. Taken aback, Hansol followed his older brother not knowing the reason. There was no particular clearing to land so Hansol was baffled. To his surprise though, he was greeted by the noble astrals. They were already enjoying the first bits of sunshine seeping through the thick leaves. 

Hansol almost fell off of dorogon. Seungcheol stumbled as he unmounted from saladrae, his own blood red winged salamander.

"Seungcheol" Hansol heard someone mention the name of his older brother with a slightly breathless voice. When he turned to where the voice came from, he was welcomed by the warm smiles from both of the Yoon's. Hansol stood rigidly like Seungcheol, he has no idea why is his brother was as speechless as him but he can't really seem to care. Normally, he would already pester his brother, asking him about his condition and all. But this time his mind was occupied with only two things, Seungkwan's smile and the fact that his glowing under the first burst of sunlight.

Hansol knows for sure that it comes with being a nether to not like overly bright and sparkly things, but at that moment he was ready to make an exception. Seungkwan smiling at him brightly, as if he was genuinely happy to see him was blinding for Hansol. Yet he was ready to take it.

Seungkwan was an exemption.

Someone cleared their throat, pulling both of the brothers out of their trance like state. "Hello Seungcheol, hello Hansol. Didn't knew you would be here first before the middle grounders." Jisoo spoke, he was perched atop of a boulder leaning his weight to Lee Seokmin. They were also bathing under the sun, glowing as well.

"Nethers might not like early mornings, but I have responsibilities Jisoo. The earlier we find that river, the safer it will be for us." Seungcheol answered for the both of them and Jisoo only snickered leaning further to Seokmin's shoulder. His older brother then started to greet the other astral nobles starting with Jihoon, then Seokmin, then Seungkwan and lastly Seungkwan's older brother, Jeonghan. His older brothers gaze lasted a few moments longer at the long-haired male compared with the others. Hansol wondered about it, he will ask his brother why he had such a look of longingness, but not today. Hansol followed his older brother and greeted the other astral nobles one by one, then he saw Seungkwan coming over to him with a basket in hand. The nether felt excited, yesterday when the other gave him a basket it was full of round flat glittering bread. It was sweet and Hansol liked it, it was a shame that he wasn't able to finish it and left it at his quarters though.

"Well, we still need to wait for the rest. So, you might as well help yourselves and eat something before we go. Who knows when's the next meal." Jeonghan offered as Seungkwan walks up to their direction. The basket was halfway open when it reached both of the nethers. Hansol watched his brother took a peek at the contents of the basket. Seungcheol's eyes for a couple of seconds widened as he looks inside it before grabbing a simple piece of a fluffy looking bread. His older brother then mumbled a short thank you and gestured Hansol to take a piece as well. 

Hansol was taking his sweet time choosing a bread with the help of Seungkwan and Seungcheol was already chewing the bread with what happens to have shredded meat inside, when Jisoo suddenly spoke. "You must be delighted Seungcheol, Jeonghan made your favorite extra special." Jeonghan whined a drawn-out version of Jisoo's name and the other only giggled. "How did they know hyungs favorite food? Even I have no idea what it is". Hansol wondered to himself, he would have wondered even more if not for his chocking on his food. 

He started to pat the older nethers back, after placing the moist bread back to the basket that Seungkwan was adamant he takes for he baked it. "Hyung are you alright?" Seungcheol only coughed at him in return and Hansol was getting concerned for him. Getting up to take their flask of water from their rucksacks, he halted from his tracks when he saw Jeonghan scurried to his brother and giving him some water to drink while mumbling incoherent curses to the astrals namely Jisoo and Jihoon who was snickering at the back. The older astrals looked very comfortable jesting with his brother that Hansol wonders about their relationship with him. He definitely needs to ask Seungcheol about it, but it can wait.

"Hansol, I think Jeonghan hyung can already help Seungcheol hyung. Why don't you sit here." Seungkwan was already seated atop of a rock, he patted the space beside him to signal the nether to sit. 

Hansol glanced back at his brother, and indeed Jeonghan, albeit a small distance away is still silently fussing over Seungcheol. "I-um yeah sure" Hansol then tried to sit on the rock without trying to fly using his wings, when he slipped. About to land face first on the rock, Hansol closed his eyes. But instead of crashing hard on the rocks cold surface, he landed on the soft pillowy feeling of feathers. When he opened his eyes all he saw was silver feathers. 

The lump of softness then slowly moved and Hansol almost slashed it into half if not for the reason that he was immediately placed right beside Seungkwan. 

"Don't be scared that's only Sehir, my cockatrice." The astral said with a gleeful smile. Hansol unconsciously smiled back, unable to resist the warmth radiating from the other. He then glanced down at the creature, to observe it. Cockatrice is not really something you would find in the nether and middle ground realms, he would only see a few of them during special occasions when some astral nobles decides to descend from their realms riding them. Hansol would only watch from afar as they unmount themselves on those big birdlike creatures and wonder what would feathers feel. Their bat like wings were out of question and their salamanders, even under their burning exteriors actually have soft and muscled skin. 

"He's feathers feel nice." Hansol blurted as he looked at the astral. A bright smile slowly crept on Seungkwan's face and Hansol felt his stomach churn in some good way. 

"Really? Thank you. I take care of him myself." The astral replied with his head bowed low and playing with the hem of his clothes.

Just as Hansol was about to take a first bite on his bread, the unmistakable flapping of wings accompanied with the sound of breaking twigs and flailing leaves halted him. 

Hansol was on high alert, but after making a quick glance around him he realized that no one looks threatened. Not even his brother. Looking up once more to the source of commotion, Hansol was once again bombarded with feathers, this time coming from the 4 majestic griffins the Middle Grounders were riding.

"Greetings my Lords!" High Lord Wen greeted, the rest of the middle grounders followed him. They were also offered with the same basket of bread by the astrals. The Middle Grounders were first hesitant in taking the food. But once High Lord Kwon got his first bite of the bread and kept gorging on it, the Middle Grounders started warming up a little.

Wonwoo and Mingyu arrived last, not a little longer after the Middle Grounders. They were given a few moments to also eat a few pieces of bread before they all mounted their winged beasts, which were the burning winged salamanders for the nethers, cockatrice for the astrals, and griffins for the middle grounders. They did not fly up just like they did earlier but instead lay low and rode their beast on the ground. Hansol asked his brother why so, and Seungcheol simply replied that it's safer that way. No one would suspect that they are stopping Lilith, if no one saw them flying their way to the shadow lands.

The sun was past the horizon when they reached the shadow lands. The rancid smell of hell was the first thing that greeted them, then slowly as they came closer and closer the endless sight of kalypdry trees filled their vision. It was hard for Hansol to believe that the shadow lands were once as lush as the lands from the three realms. It was sad to see it was now only covered by endless rows of black leaves and thick thorny branches and twigs.

Before they entered the foggy forest of the weeping woodlands, Seungcheol halted them all first. "I am a leader of no one, but as the eldest here I would like to remind you all to be careful. Especially the younger ones. Also, before we do this, can we all promise to help one another no matter what happens?" Seungcheol asked as he looked around.

"I, for now on, devote my life to the destruction of Lilith and promise to help my friends no matter how torturous the situation may be." Jeonghan added as he had his right arm stretched in front of them, hands balled up tight but with his thumb jutting out. The eldest astral then gazed at Seungcheol, then at Jisoo and smiled.

"Just like the old times?" Hansol watched as Jisoo slotted his thumb inside Jeonghan's fist and how Seungcheol hesitantly held the astral's thumb by wrapping his own hand as well.

"Yeah, just like the old times." Jisoo replied while looking around as if encouraging the rest of them to follow. 

"I too, will follow!" Soonyoung announced and grasped Seungcheol's thumb. Jeonghan beamed a bright smile by the middle grounders action, coaxing the others to join as well. At the end, they formed a little circle. All connected tightly, bright smiles and brave hearts ready to fight for humanity.

As they entered the weeping woodlands, the unmistakable howling of the many shadow beast lurking in the foggy forest assaulted their ears. Things were hardly visible other than the thorny branches of the kalypdry trees near them. Unconsciously, Hansol held the reins of his burning salamander tighter. Right beside him the young nether heard Minghao mumble something under his breath with his eyes closed, when the middle grounder opened his eyes it was a shade greener. Hansol also felt the slight stirring at the back, it was probably Junhui taking his position. Then on their left, Chan, as young and inexperienced as he is bravely took his position in the outer side of the little huddle that they made and mumbled as spell that made his eyes a darker shade as well. At the front, a slight change was made too. It was now Soonyoung in front leading them inside instead of Seungcheol.

A few short moments all of the astrals eyes then started to glow. "We're now channeling, you can share your thoughts and talk without making any sound, nobody will hear us." Hansol jolted as he heard the voice of Jeonghan in his head, although very convenient, he's still not quite used to the communication the astrals are using.

As planned the four nethers position themselves to the spaces where they can provide a wider range of shield if needed. Hansol with little effort switched positions with Seokmin and was now right beside Jeonghan who was in the middle.

"Is everybody in their positions as planned?" It was now Seungcheol's voice booming inside Hansol's head. The question of his brother was then followed by a chorus of yeses. "Good, now all we need to do is to stay alert, Middle grounders you're our eyes now. We trust you all."

With that they all moved deeper through the forest, the middle grounders served as their eyes through the foggy haze by looking through the flow of living energy circulating in the forest. The astrals on the other hand, did not wane in channeling their telepathic abilities in order for the rest of them to speak freely about their thoughts. While the nethers stayed on high alert to give support and shielding to any of them if needed. All was well.

That was until they were near the river.

Hearing the unmistakable rushing of water, all of them perked up. It was only midday, they all estimated that it will take almost a day just to be near the river judging from the distance, but it looked like they calculated it wrong. After all, the 5 centuries year old map that was based from a thousand years ago before Lilith's rampage might've not have been the most accurate. 

"Soonyoung are you able to see the river?" Wonwoo’s voice echoed in Hansol's head.

“Strangely, none. From the sound of it, we should at least see the dark energy flowing from it even from afar." Soonyoung answered in a slightly worried tone.

"I couldn't see anything as well, other than-" Chan paused and everybody was silent. "A rabbit? There's a rabbit! A well looking healthy rabbit. A normal rabbit!"

"There is indeed." Jun added. "But how is this possible? Just from the dark miasma fogging around this place, that thing will turn into a demon beast in just a few days after it's born. How come a fully adult rabbit is jumping around looking for food all healthy?" The middle grounder continued with an exasperated tone in his voice. 

“It’s coming close” Chan said, the boy sounded excited just by the thought that there is a familiar animal near them. The young middle grounder hastily made his way to the animal with glee without a second thought.

  
“Chan stop!” Seungkwan verbally shouted realizing that the animal that they thought as a harmless rabbit was actually a demon beast called the Staleins. The Shape-shifting demon beast that can also change the color of their miasma for a few moments to lure their prey.

  
Seungkwan immediately jumped in front of the middle grounder to protect him. Summoning his battle axe out of his sigil, the astral expertly swung his weapon in the air. The endless rows of fangs sprang out of the beast as it grew bigger and taller. The fluffy fur that used to cover the body of the small animal was now replaced with hard needle like pelt. The astral had no qualms slashing a big gash at the demon beasts stomach. With a confident swing, the demon beast was beheaded in no time and a proud smile marred the young astrals face. What he failed to see through the haze though was the shadow centipede waiting to ambush them. In just a few moments the happiness etched in Seungkwan’s face was replaced with pain as his left leg was bitten by the demonic creature. 

  
“Seungkwan!” Hansol broke through the channeling and verbally called out for the astral. His heart was racing painfully in his chest as the look of pure anguish written on the astrals face burn at every recess of his mind.

  
“Hansol!” the young nether ignored his brother as he jumped off his burning salamander and chased after the astrals fading image. He can endure his brothers scolding later, but he can’t just leave Seungkwan to fight an ambush killer with an injured leg. 

  
Hansol can still clearly hear the continues call of his brother to comeback, but he was too worried for the astral and made his way blindly through the thick dark fog. A few distance away, he heard pained screeches by the demon beast and immediately made way to where the sounds were coming. There lying on the ground, he found Seungkwan desperately trying to stop the demon beast from severing his head with his battle axes. Without waiting for another moment, the nether smashed the beast with his burning mace resulting for the creature to collide with the thorny trunks of the trees. The shadow centipede screeched louder calling for other shadow beast to help it but Hansol couldn’t care less. All he sees at the moment is red, red from the blood splattering out of the demon beast which was also bathing him, red from the bloody injury that was Seungkwan’s leg, and red from the anger he was feeling for the others wounds. Hansol’s only goal was to kill the beast that caused the astrals pain. 

  
And so he killed it.

  
But before he can finish it though, the beast did one last battle cry that echoed through a large part of the forest, summoning another batch of demon beast to come their way. Worried that he might not finish them all by himself and defend Seungkwan, Hansol decided to drag the astral back to where the others were. The young nether tried to look for the others through their voices but strangely, he couldn’t hear his brother calling for him. He knew no matter how angry the older was, he wouldn’t leave him alone. He also couldn’t hear the others which was even more unsettling. “Surely the others won’t leave them behind, right?” Hansol thought so to himself as he carried the astral who earlier lost consciousness on his back. They wondered for a few moments before Hansol heard a calling of a blood moth. The nether felt bile rising up from his stomach, then out of nowhere a hand grabbed his wrist.

  
“Come with me, it’s not safe here.” The face of a young man about his age greeted him. Hansol instantly pulled his wrist away from the stranger.

  
“You heard the moth, right? It’s not safe to stay here. It will call it’s spawns, then the next thing you know is your lunch for them. I know a place that can hide us, let’s go.” The stranger added as he coaxed the nether to follow him. 

  
“Who are you and why are you helping us?” The nether asked. He didn’t want to sound ungrateful at the man for helping them but Hansol just couldn’t stop himself. Afterall, the first thing his father taught him was to not trust strangers.

  
“Oh um I am Seo-Seonwoo” the other stuttered. “Look, I know you don’t trust me right now but I promise that I won’t hurt you or your friend. I just can’t watch anyone suffering the same fate as my friends and family did. The other added with a sad voice.

Hansol felt guilty with his actions but did not say a word. He was still doubtful of the man, but he had no choice. Seungkwan was still unconscious and bleeding, the blood moth was near, and he couldn’t find the others. He is gambling with his fate and hoped he made the right decision to follow the man. 

_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * Kalypdry Trees – also known as the trees of hell. The entirety of the tree is black, from its roots to its leaves there in not even one lighter color to be seen. There are also thorns covering the tree. It is also believed that if one eats the fruit of the tree, the person will either die from poisoning or turn into a demon.
  * Staleins – the smart shape shifting demon beast that can take any form of creature, even a human if they want. The Staleins is one of the notorious killers of travelers and nomadic tribes even during the old times. In fact, they are known to take shape of the most vulnerable creatures to lure in their prey. The most common, is a Stalein taking the form of a deer to lure its hunter deeper into the forest. Once the beast deemed it to be far enough, it will transform and kill is prey.
  * The rancid smell of the shadow lands – it is believed that the reason why the shadow lands had this rancid smell is because the essence of hell is seeping out of it. The essence is also the reason why the ground is black and why kalypdry trees grow and flourish.




	18. The Starnger in the mist

_**Seungkwan - Weeping Woodlands - Shadow Lands** _

Seungkwan feels wrecked. His whole body aches and there is this lingering feeling on his head like it's about to burst. The only thing his thankful for is the hand slowly and softly caressing his hair from time to time.

"-kwan, Seungkwan. Wake up, you need to drink some water." A familiar deep voice gently coaxed him to wake up. Seungkwan only groaned, he's too tired in his opinion to even flutter his eyelashes to open. 

"Hey.." The voice softly called again. "You can sleep again, but after you've drunk some water. I know you're tired from healing yourself, but your lips are starting to get chapped and you haven't had any food since lunch." Still insisting in closing his eyes the astral just grunted in reply. 

There was silence, and Seungkwan thought that the man finally accepted his defeat. But then, something tickled his ears. Seungkwan immediately shot his eyes open from the action, but he was even more astounded to see the sharp features of the youngest Choi smiling at him with amusement. 

The astrals heart rapidly beat on his chest as he locks gazes with the other man. For the astral, it felt like time stopped as he looked into the red orbs of the nether's.

"Uuhhmmm" the two were distracted from their somewhat intimate staring duel when someone cleared their throat. 

"Oh uumm his awake. I was getting him to drink some water." Hansol explained to a man Seungkwan had never seen before with a flushed face. The man looked like he was just as the same age as him and Hansol, he has brown hair and eyes and didn't have any pair of wings. He is lean and a little bit taller, though he didn't look like he is being starved in a daily. In fact, his body figure reminded him of Minghao, skinny but with right amount of muscles. 

"Oh! That's great! You should eat too. I have made some rabbit stew." The man said with a beaming smile. He was holding a bowl of probably soup, judging from the steam. “You as well Sol-ssi.” The man added.

Before Seungkwan can utter a word to thank the man for his kindness, Hansol answered for him. "Oh, thank you Seonwoo-ssi I would love to have some of that stew you cooked for us, but Kwan here said his not hungry yet and would just like to go to sleep after drinking water." Seungkwan didn't understand why the nether declined the food for him when he himself was very ready to accept. He was about to complain but the desperate look Hansol flashed his way made him silent.

“Yes, good sir, thank you for the food. I would love to indulge myself with it, but my appetite seems to refuse, probably because of the large lunch I had earlier.” Although confused, Seungkwan played with whatever Hansol was planning and the unmistakable look of relief marred the nether’s face as Seungkwan replied.

“Oh, but I still think it will be best to eat something, it will help you feel better faster. You might be feeling really tired from healing yourself. Come, Ive added carrots and potatoes to make it healthier.” The man tried to convince the astral.

“How do you know he can heal himself? You told me earlier this is the first time youve seen and met people like us. People with wings, right?” Hansol asked, his eyes narrowing at the man.

“Oh, uhhmm I j-just remembered while I was cooking that my parents b-brought an injured man home once. He-he had wings like him and can heal himself. That’s why I assumed he healed by his own.” The man stuttered as he replied to the nether. He looked unsure, and it seemed like he was doubting himself as well.

  
“Oh I see. Well Ill have the soup later, Ill tend to Seungkwan first. Can you please leave it right there? How about you Kwan?” Hansol replied to the man with a polite smile and pointed where to leave the steaming bowl, he then offered the astral his flask of water. Seungkwan did not think twice and took the flask. He drank a good amount and faked a yawn.

  
“Thank you very much sir, but I think Ill just sleep this off and maybe tomorrow, I’ll have enough energy to devour your food.” Seungkwan added after yawning. The astral then started to position himself to sleep into the hard cold surface of what looks like a cave when Hansol pulled him, placing his head on the nether’s chest.

“Sleep well Kwan, just talk to me if you need something. You know I wouldn’t be able to read your mind, right? So just tell me.” Seungkwan almost choked, in his peripheral view he can see the other man standing awkwardly then murmured shortly that he will leave. The astral was flushed and he was feeling embarrassed beyond words from their position. He was sitting between the nether’s legs, with his head rested between the crook of Hansol’s neck and chest. The nether has his arms tightly wrapped around his waist. 

  
“Talk to me.” The nether repeated as he nuzzled on the astrals hair. Seungkwan didn’t know why the nether is acting this way but he has a hunch that the man was into something so he channeled to the nethers mind.

  
“Hansol?” Seungkwan pensively asked.

  
“Thank goodness! You got it immediately”. Exultation can be heard in his tone.

  
“Im sorry if you’re uncomfortable with this position. I just want to keep you close and to not raise any suspicion. I don’t really trust that man to be honest, but the sun has already set and it will be very dangerous to be out in the forest.” The nether added with an apologetic tone. 

  
“What do you mean you don’t trust the man? He seemed nice?” Again, Seungkwan is confused. The man doesn’t seem to radiate any bad aura and all his showed up to this point is kindness.

  
“That’s why I thought it’s strange Seungkwan, this man is living all by himself out here for 2 years before he was left all alone when his family or should I say tribe was attacked by a horde of demon beast. His been living in this place his entire life.” Seungkwan was speechless, he was trying to ponder what the nether said but his headache was making it hard for him.

  
“And if you are still not convinced that there is something strange with that man, I tried to ask him earlier where does he look for food, but all he did was shrug at me and said anywhere. Seungkwan, Im no idiot and I know you are not too. We’ve all studied this in books and even seen this once, remember 6 blue moons ago?” Seungkwan tried to recall the things that happened a few years back, back when he was still a clueless 9 years old kid running around their gardens without a clue. He recalled the time when his parents rushed out of the nobles banquet all frantic and scared, screaming for his older brothers name. He remembered crying after Jeonghan for hours because he was not with him, then crying a bit longer after seeing him all pale and weak on his bed at Haljart the morning after. He then remembered the face of a man. A man so evil that remembering his maniacal laugh still gives Seungkwan shivers all throughout his body. Recalling all those horrible memories, the astral unconsciously fisted the clothes of the nether. Snuggling a little closer for comfort and the nether hugged him tighter in return. 

  
“It’s impossible to live here Seungkwan, nobody can stay and live like a normal person around here.” The nether continued.

_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * The Shadowlands and beyond - there are lands even beyong the shadow lands, but the people living in the three realms thought they don't exist. They think all of the the lands beyond the three realms is nothing but destruction and darkness. Everybody is afraid to go beyond the borders because it waa placed in every book and scripture that everything after the borders is full of demon beast.




	19. The Poison

**_Hansol Weeping Woodlands Shadow Lands_ **

  
Hansol studied the bowl of the now cold soup sitting right beside him. He hadnt touched any of the contents and was not even planning on laying a hand on it, but he was curious about the food. Using his nether senses, Hansol looked into the things inside the bowl, careful not to stir the astral that is sleeping peacefully on his chest. The soup looked decent from its appearance, there were indeed uneven chopped pieces of carrots and potatoes swimming in a brown watery broth. Small pieces of white meat floated. It looked like bird meat, however Hansol hasnt even heard any chirp of a bird since entering the misty forest. In fact, he hasnt heard any sound from a normal animal since he stepped foot in the forest, just the casual wailing of demon beast here and there. Another thing that didnt seem to add up to the nether was the place they are seeking shelter as of the moment. It was a cave and for Hansol he was more than thankful to live in a cave even for a short period of time. He felt really comfortable, like he was home. What was strange about the man living inside the cave though was the fact that it was hollow. There was a lack of furniture in the place, just a few pots and a rickety bed that didnt even had any pillow nor blanket. Seonwoo told him that he lived here all his life, even before his family and friends was slaughtered into oblivion. So why is the cave hollow of personal belongings when it was only two blue moons since his family was gone. 

  
Back to observing the food, Hansol tried to check the kind and level of miasma present in it. This method is usually done by healers to check the level of bad energy a person has before healing them. However, the nether has also seen a number of nether warriors during raids perform this method to their catch to cleanse and make sure they dont take in some dark miasma and become a threat to their kind. 

  
Concentrating his mind and energy, Hansol closed his eyes. He willed his nether sight to work and once he had his eyes open, his pupils turned bright red like rubies under the sunlight.

  
Hansol gasped a little as he observed the contents of the soup. The food, as harmless as it looked was covered with dark, evil miasma. Even the scrumptious looking carrots and potatoes had an aura so evil that under his nether senses it looked black. 

  
It looked disgusting, and the nether almost puke just by looking at it. Studying the contents further, he took the old makeshift spoon made out of some poorly carved out wood and scooped some of the meat. Again, Hansol thought of how uncivilized everything looked inside the cave. The wooden bowl and spoon were only a few things of a many.

  
Scooping the meat, he grimaced at the sight. If the vegetables floating on the soup had an extremely evil aura, the meat looked much worse. Like it was personally the limb of satan chopped into cubes and was thrown on a cauldron to be made into a stew. The nether almost laughed at the silly thought, until it clicked.

  
The meat, with an aura so evil did not belong to any bird or even any normal animal. It was from a demon beast and Seonwoo, or whoever this man is, is trying to poison them. 

  
Demon beast meat is poisonous if consumed by humans, but to demon beast alike, it is not. Yet, the effects of the poison do not present fast. Most of the time it gradually kills the victim. So, at most cases if a very unlucky person consumed demon beast meat, they have much chance to survive. 

  
Hansol is confused as to why the man would kill them, he also wondered why would he use such a weak poison if he does intend to finish them. In fact, if Seungkwan actually ate the poisoned stew, all he would get is a bad stomachache due to his body naturally healing itself without prompting. While for him, he would probably feel nauseous but with a little healing and cleansing spells, all the effects will be gone.

  
This is my pillow Jeonghan hyung. Hansol had to bite his lower lip to not squeak. The astral, who was first timid to even place his head on the nethers chest has now tightly wounded his arms around him. The young nether was feeling giddy by how the astral was softly nuzzling his head on his chest. He doesnt know why though, he also shouldnt be wondering about this because there are more pressing matters compared to his stomach doing summersaults. 

  
Ignoring the distraction that was perched on top of him, Hansol tried to think of ways on how to get out of the cave. He has no plans on fighting the man. The nether didnt want to take the risk, for he is sure there are more secrets hidden than just an innocent youthful face.

  
Sol-ssi? Sol-ssi? Hansol, in a flash immediately placed the wicked bowl of soup to where it was placed before, he then closed his eyes and pretended to be fast asleep.

  
Tsk, so they werent able to eat it huh? I better knock them both out tomorrow and prepare them before he wakes up. Seonwoo took the bowl and left to whoever knows where, leaving Hansol and Seungkwan untouched.

  
Prepare them for what? And for who? Hansol deeply thought after the man left. He knew that the man had ulterior motives for attempting to poison them but for what? More so, they have to get out of here before morning or else they might be doomed.

  
Shaking the astral who was soundly asleep on his chest, he softly whispered his name. Seungkwan, Seungkwan wake up. Just like earlier, the astral only grumbled at him and wounded his arms even tighter than before. As much as Hansol wanted to feel the astral clinging to him like he was his only lifeline longer, they were in a very dire situation. So, he had to wake him up.

  
Seungkwan please wake up. Hansol tried to wake the astral once again and thankfully, the other started to flutter his eyes open. 

  
As soon as the astral attempted to speak and ask why, the nether covered his mouth and signaled the other man to talk through their minds.

  
Hansol? Hansol let out a small smile as he heard the astrals voice in his head. He thinks he is finally getting used to this kind of communication.

  
Im sorry if I keep waking you up. The nether paused shortly as he let his gaze lock on with the astral. But we need to get out of here and we need to get out of here quick. The nether continued with the trace of fear and determination converging in his tone. 

  
I dont really understand what is happening. Seungkwan immediately replied. He didnt sound mad, he even slowly raised his right hand and placed it gently on the nethers left cheek. But Im sure you have an explanation to this and I trust you. The astral added.

  
Seungkwan that man tried to poison us with that soup. He is planning something. Hansol held the hand tightly that was on his cheek, he was clueless as to why he did that but it somehow gave him a new kind of strength. I also think he is not alone. I heard him murmur to himself about knocking us both down and preparing us before HE wakes up. Seungkwan internally gasp at the information and Hansol heard it clearly through the channeling.

  
I know it is shocking and frightening, thats why we need to get out of here before he notices. 

* * *

  
Both of them planned to sneak out of the cave by midnight or whenever the other man is deeply asleep, then Hansol will turn his nether senses on to at least see through the foggy haze once theyre out. There was only one entrance and exit to the cave so they have to make sure that the man is dead asleep. They waited patiently until the man was snoring and murmuring incoherent nonsense. Hansol took Seungkwans hand and led them through the darkness. They both made sure that there were no sounds created that might wake Seonwoo up. The nether did a quite sigh as he felt the opening of the cave. They were just a step to freedom when suddenly things turned black.

  
Stupid humans, for them to think that I didnt knew about their little escapade makes me laugh and pissed at the same time.

  
_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * Cleansing - cleansing is a common thing to do if one lives inside the safety of the three realms. It is mainly used by healers. but in some cases warriors also use this method. Especially if they are assigned to guard near the borders where the shadow lands and the land of the three realms meet. They mostly perform this to themselves and sometimes to the food that they eat. They do this in order for the miasma to not consume their well-being and become a demon beast themselves.
  * Raids - raids are like hunting trips done by warriors. It is a given that there are warrior guards posted near the borders to make sure everything is safe, with them are few gawges to measure the amount of miasma present around the area. If the gawges observe that there is a large level of dark miasma, a raid will be called on for demon beast are attracted to places with high amounts of dark miasma. Cleansing will also be done by warrior healears to make sure that the land is free from dark miasma.
  * Appearance of Nobles during trips - the nobles only accompany the warriors if it is too much for them to handle. Naturally, nobles are stonger and faster compared to normal people. Not to mention they posses more abilities (powers) than a normal person does. With the nobles assisting the warriors there is a bigger chance of vanquishing demon beasts.




	20. The Channeling

_**Seungkwan - Weeping Woodlands - Shadow Lands** _

Seungkwan groaned as he opened his eyes. His head feels like its been cracked open, split into two, and was reeled back in. Everything was dark, he couldn't see anything but he can hear the unmistakable rush of water closely. The astral tried to feel the things around him, patting the musty ground around, he felt a mop of unruly hair.

Hansol? Hansol?! the astral let out a breathy gasp as he crept towards the nether. Cradling the nethers face gently on his palms, he then started to heal the other man.

Hansol? Can you hear me?" the astral inquired as the nether started to groan in his wake. He was starting to worry for the nether still had his eyes closed even if he had healed him quite enough. Then, Hansol's eyes suddenly shoot open and the nether bolted to a seating position.

"Seungkwan are you alright? Are you bleeding? Are you hurt? Ouch my head hurts." The nether was in frenzy at first into checking the astrals welfare, then in a second he clutched his head tightly. Seungkwan appreciates how the nether cares for him, but he disproves the fact that he placed him first before himself.

Seungkwan immediately placed his hand on the nethers temples, healing the man and lessening the pain he was feeling. "That's what you get for standing up so abruptly. You should have stilled yourself first before checking on someone else." The astral reprimanded as the nether stopped hissing from the pain.

"I'm sorry." Hansol apologized a few moments as silence enveloped them.

"Shush, you don't have to apologize. I don't mind healing people. I actually like it." Seungkwan replied as he finally took his hand off of the nether's head.

"No, not that. Well I apologize for that too, but I'm sorry I was not able to take you out safely like I promised." The nether had his head bowed low, he looked ashamed and very regretful from the astrals point of view. Seungkwan's heart clenched at the sight. Hansol shouldn't feel apologetic at all.

"Hansol" The astral softly called for the nether, and the other man only hummed as a reply. Yet, he still had his head bowed low.

"Hansol look at me." Seungkwan called again. This time, he cradled the nethers face between the palms of his hands. 

"Please?" Even with his face aligned right in front of him, Hansol still had his eyes glued on the ground. With his coaxing, the nether finally looked at him. Seungkwan's heart broke at the sight of the nethers teary eyes.

"Oh Hansol, my sweet, are you listening to yourself? You shouldn't be the one apologizing, but me. I keep getting hurt, and in return you have to save me all the time. I should be on my knees begging for your forgiveness and not the other way around." The astral hugged the nether tightly, wrapping his arms around the nethers torso. He tucked his head between the crevice of Hansol's neck and chest.

"You are so brave, and smart, and strong and I couldn't be more grateful that you're with me." The astral added, his voice a bit muffled from the fabric of the nethers leathery clothes.

"I'll always choose to be with you all the time, and no matter what happens, I will get us out of here." Hansol replied in return and hugged the astral back tightly.

"Are you lovebirds done? Your sweet little dialogue is starting to piss me off, makes me remember that the pearl of my life is still in deep slumber." The hold that Hansol had on him tightened as Seonwoo appeared after slipping the heavy cloth draped above their makeshift cage.

"I must admit though, I kinda thought it was endearing hearing it for a few moments, then it was too sweet for my liking." The man crouched to be in the same level as them. He was sporting a sinister grin that intensified as his eyes started to change into a deep purple color.

"What do you want from us?!" Hansol exclaimed, and Seungkwan can hear the hostility of the nether towards the other man.

The other man huffed mockingly and grin. "Oh come on Sol-ssi, you don't have to be so tensed. Breathe in and breathe out."

"Just shut your trap and answer me!" Seungkwan has never seen the nether angry. It was only shy smiles, worried looks, and apologetic gazes all the time. So, for the astral it was quite a shock to see and hear the nether looking very red from anger.

"Feisty, aren't we? This is a change, usually most of your kind just beg, cry, and wither to your cowardice. Not gonna lie, I'm somewhat liking it. Seonwoo replied, looking amused, he had his right hand on the back of his neck scratching and pretending to think if he was going to give them the reason or not.

"Well, to answer your question, you are to wake my love from slumber. The man finally replied not a second too short.

“My poor dear has been cursed to sleep internally by my own tribes people. They called him a monster, the spawn of the devil! Seonwoo started to let his gaze travel around the place. As much as Seungkwan doesnt want to acknowledge, the man sounded grievous as he recalled his love one.

Then the tone of Seonwoos voice started to change. It was full of anger and hatred as he spit his next words with venom. But my love has given them everything they wanted. Fame, bountiful catch, and a never-ending pot of gold. Yet they still betrayed him, betrayed us. They took him away from me, they bounded and cursed him for all eternity once a group of young men from a different tribe found about him.

They called him a demon and disproved his ways of living! Who are they to say that?! What gave them the right? My love will not survive without the blood of a sacrifice! He needed them to live! This time, Seonwoos eyes looked at them with malice. The purple glow of his eyes looked sinister as it glowed through the silhouette of his body created under the first rays of sunshine.

But now, my love will finally awaken. Seonwoos voice echoed around the place and causing for the hair at Seungkwans back to stand up tall. 

Of course, with the help of you two. Both of you will give me your blood and energies and as the moon later shows itself, so will my love finally break from slumber! And we, shall be together again after a thousand long years of wait!” The man breaks out into a loud laugh, tears forming at the sides of his eyes as he reveled with the thought of being with his loved one again.

We will never shed a blood for you! You freak! Hansol screamed at the man as he stood up between Seungkwan and Seonwoo. The astral can see the how angry the nether was but the undeniable hint of fear was slowly creeping its way out of the brave visage that the nether created.

Oh Sol-ssi, I didnt ask you for it. I said you will give me your blood, and you will give it to me whether you like it or not. Simple as that. But we can get your blood later, we should start with draining you with your energies first. The man slowly backed away from their cage and Hansol waited not a moment prying it open. In a mere second of holding the iron bars, the nether was thrown away by some invisible force wrapping around the cage.

Oho, if I were you, I wouldnt try doing that again. You see, Sol-ssi, the iron used in this cage is blessed and soaked by the blood of a hundred demon beast that roamed around the land of the dead. It has properties beyond human strength and a mere human like you wouldnt be able to withstand it. Seungkwan was now at Hansol side, healing the nether from the deep burns that he got from the cage.

“And you Kwan-ssi, it would be better if you stop healing that idiot and instead save the remaining of your energy for the awakening of my beloved. It was the first time that Seonwoo directly addressed him. Seungkwan felt like puking as the dark miasma fogged out of the other mans mouth as he spoke to him, and the sheer maniacal grin showing on his face creeped him to the bones.

I would rather die healing my friends than waste my energy on someone as evil as you. You are beyond saving, youve let anger and hatred seep into your very being. You are selfish and for that you dont deserve even a tiny morsel of my energy! Seonwoo only hollered at the astrals reply. With tears on his eyes, he clutched his stomach and nearly fell to the ground from all the laughing. 

Humm, but too bad you will give it to me anyway. He then continued with a straight face.

Shall we start? the man said as he held two black crystal balls, grinning like a madman. 

* * *

It was almost sunset and Seonwoo still got the both of them tied up to a glowing purple chain unable to move a limb. For some reason, the chain felt like it had magical properties that weighed them down to the point of not moving at all. His energy was being sucked out of his body by a black crystal.

Seungkwan was almost out of energy and when the astral checked on the nether beside him, Hansol has already passed out. The astral tried to reach out and heal the man, but even through telepathy, the effort was futile.

With his last spurt of energy, the astral tried to communicate with anybody. He tried to do it earlier because he was too weak, but now he had to push his body to the limits and reach out for his hyung or to any of the astrals that he was with. Because if they were looking for him, the wavelengths of their channeling might have a big chance to cross with him.

Seungkwan tried to lengthen and widen the scope of his channeling. This is now or never. If he fails to communicate with his hyungs, then he might as well just pray and ask god to forgive him from all his sins.

About to lose the bits of his energy and cut the connection with his channeling, a static came through the astral. 

Kwan? Kwannie? Is that you my baby brother? Seungkwan almost sobbed loudly if not for the fact that he felt too weak to even shed a tear. He finally heard Jeonghans voice for what felt like forever and all he can think of is just to listen to his brother talk all day. He wouldnt even care if he nags him all day, he just wants to hear him speak. 

Hyung I missed you? said the younger, and he can hear the older break into a sob as he tried to talk.

Seungkwan, this is Seungcheol. How are you? Is Hansol with you? Please tell us where you are right now. In the background the younger astral can still hear his brother sobbing so it was probably the reason why it was now the eldest nether talking to him.

Hyung, Im so sorry. Hansol has passed out. I did my best to heal him but we are chained and I cant reach him. Seungkwan replied as a tear started to roll down his now ashen cheeks.

Its alright Kwannie, you did amazing in reaching out to us. Now please tell us what are the things you see around you? The nether tried to assure, but Seungkwan can feel the fear in the older nethers voice.

A river, we are beside a river. The astral answered breathlessly.

Seungkwan, love, I know its hard but please let your channel open for a few moments. Me and the hyungs will trace you down, so stay with us baby, just a little bit. Jeonghan finally spoke again, his voice sounded like it somehow calmed down a little.

Ill try hyung. Ill try. And Seungkwan started to zone out. He can hear Seungcheol continuously calming his older brother in the background and how will Jeonghan eventually break into another sob a few moments later.

“Seungkwan, love, hyung is near. We already know were you are. You can close your channel now baby. Just hang on for me, please. Seungkwan only hummed, he was already too weak. He finally shut his channel that was barely connecting with the others. He just prays that others are close. The sun is almost gone and none of them knows what disaster is hiding behind the black mist.

  
_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * An astrals channeling is through the exchange of telepathic particles carried by the vibrating objects around them. They travel like sound waves if compared to our setting. However, there are times where in it is beyond the line of sight and astrals would lose connection. 




	21. The Last Rayan's Torture

**_Hansol – Weeping Woodlands – Shadow Lands_ **

Hansol snapped his eyes open as Seungkwan’s broken scream resonated to his eardrums. Trying to move from his current position, the nether did his best to turn to his back. The sight that then greeted him made him blackout. Even in the misty forest the image that he was seeing is as clear as day. There on the ground, lying limp and bloody was the extremely weakened body of Seungkwan. The astral was barely conscious and Hansol in an impulse screamed his name out of worry. Hansol was stunned, Seungkwan was beaten to blue. He was full of bruises and small cuts, and his lips were bloody, probably from coughing out blood. Looking at the astral in front of him, stream of tears started to rush from the nether’s eyes, warming the ashen cheeks of the said man.

“Ah Sol-ssi, you’re awake! Just in time to join us.” Seonwoo, or whoever this man maybe greeted with a sinister look as he started to look his way.

“Humm, but I’ll play with you a little later. Me and Kwan-ssi are still having loads of fun here.” The man added as he landed another kick on the astrals abdomen whilst looking at the nether.

“No! stop! stop hurting him!” Hansol roared at the man with all his strength. Seungkwan wasn’t moving anymore, his eyes were closed and Hansol felt like the whole world turned a darker shade than before.

“If you want to torture someone, do it to me instead. Please.” The young nether begged. His tears and snot were mixing but he doesn’t give a damn. To hell is his appearance, what matters most is Seungkwan’s wellbeing. He doesn’t care if he looks like the most pathetic person in earth, he would kneel in front of the man if he had enough strength just to convince him to stop beating the astral.

“D-don’t you d-dare n-not fi-finish what you s-started.” Hansol sobbed harder as Seungkwan tried to stop the man from moving his way to the nether. He can barely raise his arms, let alone open his eyes, yet the astral still did his best to protect him.

“Of course, of course, I apologize Kwan-ssi. I was distracted for a bit.” The man replied with a sinister grin as he let his gaze fall back to the astral. Hansol screamed with all he can to gain back the demonic man’s attention to him, but the man did not spare him even a glance.

A bone crunching punch landed on the astrals face and Hansol only stared at the beaten state of Seunkwan lying on the ground. He couldn’t do anything but cry and watch Seonwoo beating the living daylights out of the astral. He felt useless, like he was the biggest waste of space in the world.

“Any last words to your friend over there before I blow your lights out? Not that he won’t follow you in a few moments” Seonwoo bemusedly asked, he has the astrals chin in a vice grip, forcing Seungkwan to look at Hansol. The nether was just lying on the ground unmoving, he feels numb from all the emotional torture he was seeing.

“Hansol, love gathered us. So, I’m sure love will take us back.” A sweet smile graced the astrals lips. It was the same smile he gave him the first time they met, the same smile when he brought him the bag of glittering bread. It was the same familiar smile that greeted him under the first rays of morning light before this nightmare happened. It was the smile that made Hansol vow to himself to keep the man happy and safe.

Yet, he couldn’t keep the promise he made.

The realization hit Hansol hard, sudden rush of emotions started to form inside the nether. All of the loathing and sadness, all of the pain and fear, it started to mesh inside Hansol, painting his vision red. The emotions started to bubble, then it bursted out like acid. Hansol felt his body warming up like he is on fire, the ground beneath him subtly shaking. The nether heard something break, but whatever that was, he doesn’t care. The last thing he needs to do right now is to be distracted from broken pottery.

“You! How dare you!” Hansol heard Seonwoo breathlessly exclaimed. The man ran besides the riverbank seeming to check something but before doing that he casted a barrier. It was a barrier that separates the nether from Seungkwan. For some strange reason, everything looked clear. In his vision, it looked like just a normal night in a dull forest, no mist, no dark miasma.

Even with the knowledge of the barrier being casted, Hansol with his clouded mind, still made his way to the astral. He started punching the barrier screaming the astrals name like a madman. His tears had started to fell once more after looking closely at the unconscious wounded man. With the nether still trying to get through the invisible barrier, Hansol was not able to see Seonwoo dashing his way. In a blink of an eye, Hansol flew a few distance away from the river and landed on his back.

“You ruined it! You ruined the crystal balls! How is my love supposed to comeback now!” the man shouted in rage, and Hansol chanced a look at the broken pieces of purple crystal that once encapsulated the energies that was stolen from them.

“I will kill you! I will kill you all! I will torture you and make you suffer, then I will feed you two to my love just like how I did thousands of years ago. For I, Seonwoo! The last of the Rayans! The strongest of them all shall seek vengeance and justice!” Seonwoo continued. Hansol watched the man’s form slowly morph into something horrifying, something beastly, something inhuman. Black scales started to grow out of his skin covering most of his body. Then, both of his hands and feet grew in size and developed thin expanses of skin akin to the feet of the water birds that Hansol was so fond of watching when he was young. The man slowly grew a bulbous tail and the once row of human teeth was now replaced with countless blade like fangs. If Hansol was in his normal state of wellbeing, he might have flown out there the moment he saw the man started to change his appearance, but with his muddled head, the nether instead summoned his mace, ready to fight back.

With frenzied movements, the demonic figure of Seonwoo dashed its way to the nether. His claws were jutted out, ready to bury in the human skin. Another rush of energy started to fill the nether as his brain was once again filled of thoughts to protect the cataleptic man lying on the ground. He felt his body warm up again. There was fire on his hands, wrapping him comfortably like gloves. He felt powerful, like he can do anything for Seungkwan.

At the same moment that the nether felt the warm fire engulf him, a deafening roar under water resonated through the forest.

Seonwoo got down to his knees, he carded through his hair frantically. His face was marred with fear.

“This is all your fault! Now his enraged!” Seonwoo screamed and launched himself at Hansol. 

The nether managed to defend himself from the sharp claws of the man. He swung his mace gracefully and landed it on Seonwoo’s abdomen. The demon like man flew a few distance from the pressure that the nether placed on the strike. But Hansol was not completely unscathed, the moment the man was hit with the nether’s mace it swashed its bulbous tail, throwing numerous sharp scales in the process.

With small cuts covering his body, the nether flew to the demonized man. Spreading his leathery wings, he realized that they were also in fire. It was something Hansol has never experienced or heard before but he can wonder about it later when he and Seungkwan are safe.

Seeing the horrifying view of Seonwoo getting back on his feet, Hansol positioned himself to make another strike. He had no plans of letting the man stand up, he was too enraged at the man for torturing Seungkwan like the astral was just some twisted play toy. The mace landed on Seonwoo’s chest, crushing the man to the ground and burying him a few inches deep.

Hansol saw how the man coughed out purple blood, how he can barely stand on his feet. The nether saw how beaten the man is but for Hansol it was not enough. Nothing was enough for what he did to Seungkwan.

The nether had a vice grip on his mace, he was still enraged and was not satisfied yet with what he had done to the demonic man. Readying to strike a blow on Seonwoo’s head and end it once and for all, another loud growl was heard. It was the same growl that resonated earlier, the same one that caused the demonic man to scream his lungs out and blame him that it was his fault.

In a split second, before the nether can move a muscle, he was flipped violently in the air. Smashing on a ginormous boulder and landing on his back, Hansol momentarily saw splotches of white fill his vision. He felt dizzy from all the pain that the attack caused him. When his vision steadied back, the nether was surprised to see a humongous demon beast flailing out of the water.

It looked hideous, slimy and disgusting. It had a long muscular body covered with whatever slippery substance. A pair of webbed limbs and a flat tail. It had pearly black eyes darker than night and a circular mouth full of rows and rows of saw-like teeth. Hansol watched as the demon beast thrashed around, trees were falling and the ground beneath it cracked as it crawls by. The nether was looking for ways on how to safely take Seungkwan out of the barrier and get away from the monster without getting noticed.

“My love please calm down! I will find a way to fix this!” Hansol heard the booming voice of Seonwoo trying to appease the beast. The demonized man ran in front of the thrashing monster and kneeled.

“This is all your fault! You ruined it all!” The man looked at Hansol with such malice, he bared his fangs and hissed at the nether. Then, in an instance spear end tails popped out of his back and made his way to the unconscious astral. Hansol flew his way as fast as he can to Seungkwan’s direction, shielding the astral from being skewered from Seonwoo’s harpoon tails. The nether was able to safely secure the astral on his arms but he didn’t have enough time to fly out of the way. His left leg was stabbed deeply, and he screamed at the deep gash that was now profusely bleeding and throbbing in pain. The nether unceremoniously landed on the ground due to the immense pain but made sure that he landed on his back to assure that the astral tucked on his chest is not harmed.

Unable to move any faster, Hansol placed the astral on the ground and covered him with his body as the mouth of the giant demon beast swiftly made its way to them. He doesn’t care if he dies at this moment, he’d rather die protecting the man he cherishes than watch him get killed instead.

Closing his eyes, the nether let a few tears drop. He will let the tears fall until the pain kills him. He will let it be because he was mourning the fact that he was not able to spend more time with the astral beneath him.

As the nether awaits the searing pain to come, the monster roared loudly once again. Hansol clamped his eyes a little tighter expecting the pain to come any moment by now but it didn’t.

Astounded, the nether opened his eyes. There, fighting the demon beast was the rest of their friends and his hyung. They looked distressed and relieved at the same time, especially his Seungcheol hyung and Jeonghan hyung.

Jisoo swiftly descended to them once he successfully chopped a few of the spear-like tail of Seonwoo leaving the man to Minghao and Junhui.

“Put this on your wound, it will sting but it will disinfect it.” The older astral commanded as he handed the younger nether a bottle.

“Please take care of Seungkwan first, he needs it more than I do. Please.” Hansol begged as he let the tears flow out of him.

“I will Hansol, just please put that on your wound please.” And Hansol only nodded as he watched Jisoo heal the heavily wounded astral in front of him. The older kept pouring the younger astrals wounds with the same liquid that Jisoo gave him. Seungkwan even on his unconscious state was still hissing from pain. It broke the nether’s heart to a thousand pieces just hearing the man moan in displeasure.

In the background, he can still hear the others fighting the demon beast but as Jisoo started to now heal him. The comforting feeling started to lull him to sleep. 

**_Facts about the Fic:_ **

****

  * **Demonizing a human –** a human can turn into a demon in many ways. One, is by exposing oneself in dark miasma. Another way, is by a high demon casting a spell to the said human thus turning the human into a demon as well. Seonwoo, the last Rayan, was demonized by his demon lover by using this the said two methods.




	22. Bonus Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this to celebrate reaching 50 subs at aff. The timeline when this happened is during a short stop at a little town beyond the shadow lands.

**Seungcheol - Small town beyond the Shadow Lands - Shadow Lands**

"Soonyoung, what is that?" Seungcheol curiously eyed the questionable sparkly things on the middle grounders rucksack. They were on the road for quite some time now and finally found a small town beyond the shadow lands that is somehow safe and peaceful. The heroes decided to stay in an inn for a night before going on their way again.

While the youngers, namely Junhui, Mingyu, and Seokmin busy themselves stocking up their rucksack that was specifically for their food when they're traveling, Seungcheol and the others thought it would be nice to walk around the small town and relax for a bit. Well except for Jihoon, the man's way of relaxing is by locking himself in his room.

"Oh this? This is for my darling Jihoonie. His feet get cold easily even under his boots to the point he is not able to sleep anymore. Poor thing, I've seen him a lot of times wake up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep because of it." Soonyoung paused for a little and that gave Seungcheol more time to ponder not on the questionable color-shifting socks but on the way the middle grounder addressed the younger astral.

Nineteen years into his existence and never did he associate the younger astral with the word "Darling". Not even the times when he saw him still on his baby trousers.

"That's why he gets cranky in the morning sometimes." Soonyoung whispered, looking around cautious as if Jihoon might suddenly appear and smack him on the face. Seungcheol on the other hand would like to differ that Jihoon, at all times every day is cranky.

"How about you hyung? Aren't you going to get Jeonghan hyung something?" Soonyoung was looking at him weird.

"Huh?" the nether dumbly asked.

"Well, today is the highlight of the **Clæn** month and I thought- ." Soonyoung paused for a little, sounding unsure if he should continue what he was about to say or not.

"You would get something for Jeonghan hyung since you and him are together." Seungcheol was dumbfounded, is that what everybody thought? He was not worthy of Jeonghan, the astral deserved better. Jeonghan deserved someone brave, strong, handsome and fun not someone as dull and uptight as him.

"Oh uh, you've got the wrong idea. Me and Jeonghan are no-." The nether tried to correct the younger, but he was stopped with a rather hard pat on his back.

"Oh, come on hyung, you don't have to be shy. I'll help you look around. Think about the things that Jeonghan hyung likes, or things that he does, or maybe the things that bother him." Soonyoung beamed at him happily. He was too enthusiastic for Seungcheol's liking.

"Really Soon, there is nothing between us." The nether tried to counter, but it fell on deaf ears as Soonyoung marched his way merrily to the old lady selling those hideous color-shifting socks.

If he was going to buy Jeonghan a gift, it was definitely not those color-shifting socks.

Seungcheol was exhausted, shopping with Soonyoung was like taking a small child to a busy market place for the first time. The man had an endless pit of energy. Where he gets it, Seungcheol can only wonder.

The others are nowhere to be found, they were still probably out or just taking a rest in their rooms. It was dinnertime already so it was probably the latter. Seungcheol decides he will check on them one by one after settling for a bit. Both men got a quick meal at the inns small dining hall before the middle grounder dashed out to give his present to Jihoon, leaving Seungcheol alone. The nether would've sat a little longer if not for the fact that he felt awkward sitting all alone surrounded with couples. He might've thought seeing Jisoo and Seokmin cuddling near the fireplace but everybody knew those two are together anyway.

He finally decided to make his way to the room he shares with his younger brother, holding a small box wrapped with lilac paper and adorned with a golden ribbon. The gift reminded him of Jeonghan in every way. From the wrapping to the contents, it screamed nothing but Jeonghan.

The problem though, he had no idea how to give it to him without looking weird. He doesn't really talk much with Jeonghan, only on times where they need to make a plan on how to gather the shards of Lilith's soul. So, he really has no idea why the others think there is something going on between them. Seungcheol must admit though, he has been harboring feelings for the other man for a long time and has been secretly leaving gifts through his bird on his terrace since then. He remembers gifting Jeonghan that notebook that the astral uses to write every night. It's been a year or two and the pages are almost out, Seungcheol fears that he might ran out of paper and will never see the smiling face of the astral as he writes on it. Thus, explains his gift, however, he still has no idea how to give it to him. What if Jeonghan asked him the reason for his gift, he could never lie to Jeonghan, so the astral would know that he stares at him all the time.

Seungcheol was disturbed from his deep thoughts when he heard Chan whining at his younger brother.

"This betrayal is just unfathomable." Seungcheol watched as the youngest huffed. Chan has both of his arms crossed on his chest looking very displeased. The three youngest were standing in the open terrace at the end of the hallway.

"But Channie it has the same flavor, the only difference is the shape." His brother tried to reason out.

"And that's why I feel betrayed. Everybody is giving and getting heart shaped things. I even bought you guys one too, but all I get is a square bread and a rectangle block of chocolate, while you gave Seungkwan hyung a heart shaped candy and he gave you that glittering heart shaped bread in return!" Seungcheol giggled at the sight, feeling a little light from the middle grounders innocence. The kid might have grown a little taller and stronger in a few full moons of traveling with him, but he still got the innocence of the young boy that he is.

Seungcheol did not dare to linger longer on watching the three. As amusing as it was, it will be a pain if Seungkwan turns to him and ask him to explain the essence of **clæn day or month**. Making his way again to his room, he passed through the shared room of Jihoon and Seokmin where he heard the unmistakable screeching of Jihoon inside.

"Soonyoung stop chocking me with these flowers, and what are those?" Seungcheol is guessing that the astral might've finally seen the monstrosity of socks Soonyoung bought for him.

Now grinning on his way to his room, the nether stilled as the man of his dreams stepped out of his respective room.

"Oh, you're here. I was about to check everybody on their rooms to see if we're complete." Jeonghan said, smiling at him.

"How's shopping with Soonyoung?" Seungcheol wanted to answer, but his stupid brain can only think of Jeonghan and his hair tied into a braid. God, Jeonghan with his beautiful hair braided is so beautiful Seungcheol wanted to pause the moment forever so he can look at it for all eternity.

"Someone gave you a gift? Good for you then?" He saw Jeonghan eyeing the purple box, his smile slowly disappearing on his face.

"I uh- " stupid brain and mouth. Why can't they form a coherent reply?

"I'll get going. I'll check all of them for you tonight. You must be excited to open up your present so I won't hold you any longer." Now the gentle smile was completely gone from the astrals face as Jeonghan started to walk away from the nether.

Seungcheol felt about himself, maybe his lack of reply caused the souring of the astrals mood. So, with all the courage he has inside him, he gently grabbed the astrals wrist and dragged him inside his room. The astral gasp from the nether's sudden actions but didn't questioned the man.

Breathing in, he handed the purple box to the astral with closed eyes. It was his first time giving the man a gift personally. "It's for you." Seungcheol said, his eyes still closed.

There was a moment of silence and Seungcheol was starting to fear that Jeonghan was now weirded by him. The nether started to nervously open his eyes and watch the horrified look on Jeonghan's face but instead, he was greeted with thankful eyes and a smile so bright he might've gone blind.

"Oh Cheollie, thank you. I thought you didn't have anything for me." Jeonghan was beaming and Seungcheol felt proud that he was the cause of it.

"This is for you." The astral handed him a box neatly wrapped with red paper. The nether took the box from the astral slowly, looking at Jeonghan straight in the eyes. It felt like time has stopped for the both of them and it might really have if not for Soonyoung screaming from Jihoon's room to stop chocking him.

"I should really get going. I need to check the rest. Thank you very much again Cheol. I'll make good use of whatever this is." And with a kiss on his right cheek, Jeonghan dashed out of his room leaving Seungcheol frozen.


	23. The Monster of Syn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungcheol finally found Hansol. However, they also found some other things too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So god gave me two choices in life, one is to check my students test papers or update this fic. Guess what chose.

_**Seungcheol - Weeping Woodlands - Shadow Lands** _

Seungcheol couldn't be more grateful when he heard Jeonghan talking telepathically to Seungkwan. The nether has been worried sick for his younger brother and also for the younger astral. After losing them in the thick mist, Seungcheol did his best to not lose his mind. Especially after seeing Jeonghan cry his heart out at Jisoo. He needed to be calm and collected even if he was having an emotional turmoil in order to think of ways on how to get his brother back. 

"I'm sorry hyungs, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault, I'm so stupid. It should've been me that the monster took not the hyungs." Seungcheol can still remember how Chan cried as he slumped to the ground on his knees. The young boy was shivering, impending trauma about to be etched on his being for the rest of eternity. His older brother did his very best to calm him down, apologizing to Seungcheol and Jeonghan for the mess his brother did. And Jeonghan, even if he was a sobbing mess accepted both of their apologies.

"We're going to look for them" Seungcheol replied through gritted teeth. As of that moment, he still couldn't really accept both of the Kwon's apology. He knew that Hansol was part to blame for choosing to run after the astral, but if not for Chan's naivety, none of this would've have happened. 

"But we need to keep going, it is not safe here. Soon, demon beasts will start to gather here because of the ruckus that we made. We need to look for a safer place to plan out how to get them back." The nether continued. His eyes were glowing red, nether senses fully activated and the slight resentment of losing his brother slowly seeping out. Feeling the tension, none of his comrades uttered a word as they stood up and concentrated their energies to locate a proper and safe place to hide out.

That night, the rest of them did their very best to look for Hansol and Seungkwan. The astrals did what they're best, channeling their telepathic energies to call out for Seungkwan. While the middle grounders scoured every nook and cranny for any positive miasma that their energies would allow them. The nethers however, were left to just build a protective barrier. Seungcheol felt bad about himself that moment. He wanted to look for Hansol, be there for him and save him. But his abilities weren't really of any use for them as of the moment. While a barrier is good for protection, what use does it has to protect someone you can't even find. He very badly wanted to run after Hansol, but fate and the circumstances that they were into did not allow him to do so. The moment that Hansol disappeared into the mist, a flock of scerows (shadow crows) started to attack them, halting the nether from his steps to fend for himself and the others as well. After the place finally calmed down, the older was only filled with fear, anger and worry because his younger brother was nowhere to be found.

But now, after hearing Jeonghan converse with Seungkwan, Seungcheol almost sobbed. The possibility of getting his brother back was tugging his heartstrings to the point that it was crumbling his stoic façade. The nether immediately held the astrals right hand in order to communicate with Seungkwan as well. They have done this many times years ago that both of them didn't need to adjust as their energies mingled with one another.

Hearing the ragged breathing of Seungkwan made the blood in Seungcheol boil. Whoever or whatever is holding the two better pray to their god because Seungcheol had no plans in stopping himself from unleashing everything he had. 

The nether let the palms of his hands softly graze the astrals cheeks to steer Jeonghan, who has his eyes closed to look at him. Seungcheol's breath hitched as Jeonghan looked at him, because as tired as he looks from looking for both of their brothers, he is still the most beautiful. Even with his messy hair and crumpled clothes, to Seungcheol's eyes he is still the most beautiful person that just looking at him lessened the heavy feeling of losing Hansol in his chest. Without a word, as both of their eyes meet, Jeonghan suddenly clung at Seungcheol. With the astrals arms draped around on his neck tightly, the nether allowed himself to bask in the warmth he deprived himself years ago and hugged the astral back with as much force. 

"We'll get them back, I promise." Seungcheol murmured as he nuzzles the top of the astrals hair. The astral nodded and slowly, the tight hug loosen. They stood up and gathered the rest, explaining to them about their discovery. A glint of hope flashing on their faces after hearing the news.

Still connected to Seungkwan, the rest of the astrals strengthen their connection and readied themselves to risk their lives and fly their way through the blinding fog of black miasma.

"Wait, before we go, I just want to try this spell." Wonwoo suddenly intervened and Seungcheol almost screamed at his younger friend that it was not the time for his experiments, yet he did his best to stop.

"If this spell succeeds, it will be very beneficial." The younger nether added.

"Just tell us Wonwoo." Seungcheol spat back harshly. He really didn't mean it but time was ticking for all of them.

"Alright, so I just found a spell that will help us see through this dark miasma. It's a cleansing spell from the ancient warriors who attacked the lair of Lilith and almost won. This spell will allow us to see things clearly through the dark miasma just like how us, nethers see through the dark. It consumes minimal energy and will greatly help our mobility in this forest." There was silence, everybody knew the repercussions if a spell is done the wrong way.

"I'll try it." With nothing but thoughts of saving his brother, Seungcheol volunteered himself. 

"Hyung I need you to close your eyes and no matter what happens, never open them until I tell you." When his eyes were tightly clamped, Wonwoo started to chant a language that Seungcheol can recognize as a language from one of their well-known ancestors, the Shibka's. His body started to feel light, then his eyes began to cool down. He was starting to feel good, the nether felt like a weight was being lifted from his chest.

"Hyung open your eyes and try to look around." Seungcheol pensively opened his eyes, unsure if the spell really worked or not. With his eyes wide open and noticing that there seems to have been no change on how he sees the things around him, the nether looked around the things outside the cave and was shaken from the things he saw. 

The entirety of the forest is lush and full of Kalypdry trees, a clear sign that dark miasma is abundant around the place. Bones of different shadow beasts lies on the forest floor but it was not only it. Other than the varying sizes of the different bones of the shadow beast, unmistakable bones of human and tiny animals scattered around the place as well.

"Did it work hyung?" Wonwoo called out at Seungcheol when the elder remained stiffened whilst staring outside the cave.

"It is, it's working. I am just baffled after seeing how much of a wreck this place is." The older nether replied, a sad tone lacing his voice. Seungcheol flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder, the nether turned and saw Jeonghan smiling at him encouragingly.

"I'll try it too." Jeonghan said and the rest of his comrades followed after him, and even if Wonwoo used a lot of his energy and was very tired, he did his best to activate the spell for all of them.

With that, they glided through the misty forest with renewed sight. Each cell of their bodies was determined to look for their missing companions.

* * *

Seungcheol felt relieved as he saw a glimpse of his brother from afar. Hansol was alive, he was breathing, moving, literally fighting. The momentary feeling of relief was washed away in a few moments though, after Seungcheol saw what hideous monster was Hansol facing off. It also did not help to ease the dread he was feeling the moment his eyes landed at the unmoving lying body of Seungkwan on the ground.

As the scream of Hansol resonated through the air, Seungcheol can only pray to God that he allowed him to flap his wings faster. He was so close, so close that he can already see the strange light covering his brother, yet he was still too far to reach out to him and get him out of the way as the humongous beast opened its mouth. 

As Seungcheol screamed his younger brothers name, a few weapons swiftly passed by him and the screeching of the demon beast filled the air. In shock, the nether looked back and was even more surprised to see that in the heat of the moment, as Seungcheol screamed out to Hansol helplessly, Mingyu and Chan gave all they have and threw in their soul weapons directly at the now thrashing monster.

Looking back at his companions, Seungcheol courageously looked at them and nodded to suggest attacking the monster. With swift movements, they delve down and mostly attacked the thrashing beast while Jisoo, Minghao, and Junhui decided to fight off the other creature that accompanied the giant demon beast.

Collectively attacking, they decided to target the monster’s chest. Thinking that there might be a heart that will greatly weaken the beast once it is pierced or damaged. 

With their long weapons suitable enough to be in a good distance to fight the demon beast, Mingyu and Wonwoo teamed up to distract the monster. They were also accompanied by the Lee brothers who both have the abilities to let their soul weapons hover in mid-air. Seokmin started to get the monsters attention by letting both of his circular blades cut through the slimy skin of the giant creature. Jihoon then, with a whip of his fingers controlled all of his twelve blades to pierce the beasts left eye. After the brothers combined attack, Wonwoo flew up then dove down with his scythe tightly held in his right hand and slashed a deep gash on the monster’s face. Mingyu then followed by throwing himself with his lance and burying it deep on the demon beasts right eye causing for a spurt of green blood to bathe the nether in the process.

With the demon beast distracted enough from the attacks directed on its upper regions, Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Soonyoung, and Chan decided to make their move. With two short double swords good for close combats, Jeonghan jumped and ripped open the flesh near the beast’s neck to its chest before he was thrown harshly to the ground. Seungcheol wanted to run over and check up on Jeonghan but he stopped himself when he heard Soonyoung call out his name. Then the nether without second thought partnered up with the middle grounder to open wider the gash Jeonghan left for them. Seungcheol held up his burning sword with both hands and cleanly sliced open the right side of the monster’s chest, exposing its ribs. Soonyoung on the other hand held both of his bone saws on each hand and rived the skin on the left side of the monster’s chest so deep that it even broke some of the demonic creatures’ bones. As their final hit, Chan charged swiftly and stabbed the strange looking muscle seeming to move in a beat.

"Fools! You're all fools." Seungcheol didn't have the luxury of time to analyze what nonsense was the man that Junhui and Minghao dealing with meant before Chan flew and landed on the rocky river banks of the syn river.

There was a momentary silence before Chan slowly lifted his bloody hand and pointed at the thrashing demon beast. "Something's growing out of it" the young boy added.

The nether swiftly snapped his neck back to the direction of the giant demon beast only to see another head growing out of it. 

Seungcheol only heaved a deeper breath once he heard Mingyu gasp from above him and heard Jihoon murmuring in disbelief and annoyance about how the beast is growing another pair of eyes after doing their best to blind it.

**Facts about the Fic:**

  * Scerows – are demon beasts that looks exactly like crows other than the fact that these creatures have purple glowing eyes. They hunt in flocks, and was once feared by the humans of the old times as the black cloud of death since they look like black clouds if gazed upon by the naked eye. Once scerows spotted their prey, they will form a cyclone like formation and dive down to trap it, leaving a heap of bones once they are done.
  * Shibka – they are one of the main tribes that the modern nethers are known to have come from. This tribe is known to have fought demon beasts down until the gates of hell just to make sure that they shut them down for at least a good few years before they start to attack innocent people again. 




	24. The Green Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the beast limbs multiplying the more they sever it, the heroes try to find ways to fight it off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIRST OF ALL I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THOSE WHO'VE LEFT KUDOS AND COMMENTS IN THIS SHITSHOW.. THANK YOU VERY MUCH Y'ALL AND ALSO TO THOSE BOOKMARKED THIS THANK YOU AS WELL ❤❤❤
> 
> Also before I forget, the italics are there to indicate that they are talking through telepathy.

**Soonyoung - Weeping Woodlands - Shadow Lands**

Soonyoung heard Chan gasp behind him. He wouldn't blame the boy though, seeing three equally horrifying heads all simultaneously trying to get out from the crevice that they created on the beasts chest was beyond terrifying for all of them. The older middle grounder then, in an instinct, unconsciously tried to protect his younger brother by putting himself between Chan and the beast.

"Get back Chan." Soonyoung then said through gritted teeth. He has his back facing his brother, and he has no plans of looking back at him at all. He wanted to be brave for the both of them, and showing his fear-stricken face wouldn’t really help it. 

"Hyu-hyung" Soonyoung flinch hearing the frightened voice of Chan.

"I said get back! This isn't just some demon beast that you can fight, Chan. I don't think any of us can." Soonyoung didn't mean to raise his voice on his younger brother, but he figured he had to get his point across and that point is to get his brother to safety.

"Listen to me, if things get worse, I want you to run and take Hansol and Seungkwan. Don't ever look back and try your best to get out of this forest. We'll try to get away here somehow but I first want you, Hansol and Seungkwan to be safe." He finally looked at his brother, a look of resignation marred in his face. He wanted to believe that this wasn't the end but just looking at the demon beast in front of him made it hard to reassure even himself.

A hand then suddenly placed itself on his younger brothers shoulder. Soonyoung looked at the direction of its owner and saw Jeonghan leaning his weight on Chan. "We trust you kid." He added as he limped his way to the direction of the demon beast.

His brother only nodded then gave him a tight hug. Albeit looking hesitant and nervous, the younger middle grounder sprinted his way to where Seungkwan and Hansol were.

Soonyoung watching his younger brother run to the two unconscious boys finally turned his back to face the giant demon beast. With three sets of eyes and heads, the hideous creature let out a guttural growl as if it was asserting its dominance.

_“Now what do we do?”_ Soonyoung couldnt help but be surprised as the voice of Lee Jihoon resonated inside his head. There was silence after that and the middle grounder was starting to believe that the astral has personally spoken to him.

I really cant think of anything right now, all I know is that, that thing will only multiply its limbs the more we sever them.” Jeonghan’s voice finally filled the void, that’s when Soonyoung finally realized that Jihoon was speaking to all of them.

Finally realizing the situation and mentally berating himself for a good second for his “stupidity”, the nether finally found his voice that somehow got lost when the channeling started. 

_“I think it will be appropriate if we look for its weakness.”_ the middle grounder suggested as he tried to dodge the muscular slimy tail of the beast that tried to smash him flat.

_“And how do you suggest we look for it? We absolutely cannot rip that thing open.”_ Wonwoo replied, there was no sarcasm in his voice, just pure worry and fear.

_“Us middle grounders are able to see the sources of energy.”_ Minghao spoke up whilst jumping on one of the branches of a kalypdry tree, careful not to touch even a single leaf of it with his bare skin.

_“Yes, and just like that time when we searched the whole forest for the source, we can also look for the source of energy in a person or a demon beast. We just have to hold the person or the demon beast long enough to locate the energy source.”_ Jun added with a huff as his shoulder brushes a branch of the tree.

_“So, what you mean is that any of you three can see it’s energy source so long as we distract the beast long enough for any of you to touch it?”_ Seungcheol finally spoke.

_“Yes hyung, that’s what we actually want to suggest.”_ Soonyoung answered back firmly. 

There was a short silence before the oldest nether finally spoke again. _“Very well then, you three try to hold it at its torso while we’ll distract it straight ahead.”_

The heroes finally made their move with the astrals throwing their bladed weapons in parts that wouldn’t trigger the beast to multiply itself. Then, with calculated slices, the nethers aimed on wounding the beast on its face, careful not to curve out any integral part of the monster like the eyes or mouth. 

Soonyoung, Jun, and Minghao on the other hand started to sneak their way to the beasts’ upper torso. The ginormous demon beast was thrashing around too much that it was getting hard for them to touch it. Jun almost got flattened down by one of the beasts slimy tentacles if not for the spell that Wonwoo placed on their eyes. Persevering their way to the monsters torso, Soonyoung heard Minghao scream as the younger middle grounder flew through the air only to be hit by the beasts tail. Minghao was thrown violently on the ground with his back harshly hitting on a number of kalypdry trees taking them down with him. Jun screamed his lungs out to the younger and dove down to where Minghao was, leaving Soonyoung by himself. With the knowledge that Jun is on his way to Minghao, Soonyoung didn’t look back and concentrated to touch the demon beast. 

Close enough to touch the demon beast, Soonyoung looked around. Looking for the energy source of the demon beast will make him vulnerable just like the last time so he made sure that the others were still effectively diverting the attention of the beast away from him before he starts.

With a deep heave of breath, the Middle grounder let the energy travelling through him to be still and aid him in looking. With his senses fully focused, Soonyoung finally touched the demon beasts slimy skin and felt the giant of an energy coursing through it. Focusing himself further into feeling the energy through every vein of the beast, Soonyoung beckoned more of his energy to pour out of him. Searching the beast for any weak spot proved to be hard for the middle grounder if he were to do it in a short time. The demon beast was very big and with such immense amount of energy coursing inside it, it felt like the beast is just one giant heap of energy. With the upper part of the beast thoroughly searched, the middle grounder decided to look for it in the lower regions of the creature. However, before he can start his search, a searing pain pierced his leg.

Snapping his eyes open, Soonyoung groaned as the tentacles of the smaller demon beast that Minghao and Jun were fighting earlier latched into him deeply. Blood was trickling on his left leg and as he was about to fight back, the demonic thing curled some more of its tentacles to the middle grounder effectively bounding him in place.

“Don’t you dare touch him with your filthy hands human.” Soonyoung was mildly shocked to hear a demon beast talking, but he was unable to ponder deeper on that thought as the limbs holding his arms tightened and thorn like bones started to appear, tearing his skin.

Soonyoung screamed from the searing pain bursting in every bit of his nerves, his vision was turning white and his limbs starting to feel numb. He was starting to lose consciousness from all the pain induced in his system when the sudden weight on his arms were lifted away. Falling cruelly to the ground with a loud thud, the middle grounder caught a sight of Jun throwing the demonic creature to the side with his large meteor hammer on hand. 

Weak and heavily wounded, Soonyoung slowly stood up on wobbly feet and started to flap his wings. The middle grounder can taste the iron running from his throat up to his mouth but he still did his best to ignore it in favor of making contact with the beast again.

With his world still spinning from the pain in his body, Soonyoung tried to focus again in feeling the flow of energy from inside the demonic creature and started to search the lower regions of it. As the middle grounder started to look into the nether regions of the demon beast, Soonyoung couldn’t help but realize that the flow of energy is much stronger compared to the upper and mid sections of the monster. 

With a spark of hope from the realization, the middle grounder looked into it harder only to gasp at what he saw. Like touching fire, Soonyoung withdrew his hands like lightning after he saw where all the power of the beast was coming from. There, between the bones that connects the tail and spine of the demon beast, lies a small green stone. Glowing and charging the demon beast to its full demonic glory. 

About to fly in a safer distance away from the still floundering demon beast, Soonyoung witnessed how Jihoon crashed into the rocky riverbanks unconscious. Without thinking twice, the middle grounder dove down in a speed of light and scooped the man into his arms before the astral was smashed into pieces by the limbs of the gigantic creature. But with his weakened body, the middle grounder missed his footing and landed badly on the other side of the river, rolling on the sharp hard rocks on the ground. Soonyoung coughed out red after softly unwrapping the astral from his hold. Jihoon has finally gotten his consciousness back during the fall, and was wide eyed the moment his gaze met the bloody middle grounder. The astral didn’t know what to say, he didn’t even know what to feel. The man in front of him has wounds in every part of his body, he was soaked in his own blood and his right wing lost almost half of the feathers from the bad landing, yet he did it all to save him. 

Soonyoung was breathing heavily as he tried to stand up only to fall again to the ground. Jihoon immediately held him in his arms and started to heal him even he himself is weak as well. Soonyoung started to feel the warmth wrapping him allover and he smiled unconsciously. Remembering the discovery he made, the middle grounder slowly lifted his hands, encouraging the other man to make contact with him.

_“Speak to me Soonyoung?”_ Jihoon softly asked him with so much care whilst threading his fingers through the middle grounders hair that Soonyoung felt his heart skip a beat from the gesture. 

Instead of talking through the channel that Jihoon created just between them, Soonyoung took the astrals right hand and placed it on his cheeks. He closed his eyes then started to recall the image of where exactly the stone inside the demon beast was. The middle grounder heard Jihoon gasp and Soonyoung opened his eyes again. He started to reach for the astrals cheeks and smiled as Jihoon began to open his eyes.

_“Please tell it to them in my stead.”_ Soonyoung said, and although he can still hear the repeated calls of Jihoon for him, he couldnt help himself from succumbing to the darkness that was slowly filling his vision.

  
**Facts about the Fic:**

  * **Kalypdry trees** – is known to many as the tree of hell with its poisonous fruits. However, there was none found in any of the scriptures in the three realms that states that by touching the trunks, branches, and leaves alone can cause severe burns. The thirteen heroes had to learn this fact by themselves through the hard way as they wandered through the weeping woodlands. Yoon Jeonghan, the eldest son of the Yoon’s made sure to take notes of it by writing the things he found out through their travels beyond the realms on his leather notebook and promises to write a book and share it to the world when all of the chaos ends. 



  
ALRIGHT, so this chapter is supposed to be about how the 13 heroes fight and found out about the weakness of that godforsaken demon beast, BUT NO! SOONHOON HAS DIFFERENT PLANS! SOONHOON IS IN IT FOR WORLD DOMINATION I TELL Y'ALL!!! SOONHOON IN NORTH AMERICA IS LIKE JEONGCHEOL IN JAPAN! LIKE WTF! LIKE HAVE YOU SEEN THAT VIDEO OF MISTER LEE JIHOON TALKING TO KWON SOONYOUNG AND LEANING INTO HIS PERSONAL SPACE LIKE THERE'S NONE!!! THIS BASIC BITCH DIED FOR APPROXIMATELY 5 SECONDS AND WAS REBIRTHED TO THE STILL SAME SOONHOON PICTURE FLASHING ON MY PHONE SCREEN!! WHY ARE THEY LIKE THIS???!! WHY???????????!!!!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wanted to update last night but I still have to finish the grades of my students leaving me having little to no time in writing. So, I decided to just update today instead. January is about to end, hopefully the amount of paperworks that we need to do lessens a bit before march slaps us with more. I really want to update more than just follow my normal schedule which is twice a month, so I just hope and pray that February isn't as bitchy as January. Bye and Luv y'all.. I hope you like this update
> 
> Also comments and kudos are always appreciated ❤


	25. The Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hansol feels hopeless but the light shows him the way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a writers block at the begging of this chapter and it almost prevented me from posting this update. I'm not that happy of how this chapter begins so please forgive me if it's a little rough.
> 
> But on the other hand, I'm contented for the verkwan bit that I placed. Just some spoilers, Verkwan stans win in this chapter

_**Hansol – Weeping Woodlands – Shadow Lands** _

Hansol, after losing his consciousness, finally started to get it the moment a warm splatter of liquid reached his face. The young nether, with his eyes closed, can hear the unmistakable sound of metals clanking even under his groggy state. With great effort, Hansol tried to slowly open his eyes. He felt like his world was spinning, the fatigue and stress from his efforts to save and survive is still deeply buried under his being. Enduring the urge to puke the nonexistent contents from his stomach, the nether who was still lying on the ground, painfully arched his neck to look up.

"Cha-chan" Hansol called out as best as he can as he looked at the young middle grounder who was holding a lance tightly with blood trickling down from his right shoulder. Yet, it only came out as a throaty whisper that barely went through out of his lips.

The middle grounder didn't seem to notice him as Chan desperately continued to block the claws and canines of a pack of shadow mongrels. Hansol can only watch in pain as Chan fought the mongrels by himself. He felt useless as he lied on the ground doing nothing while the young middle grounder fights for his life. His feelings of self-pity escalated even more as one of the beasts clawed on his back leaving a nasty gash in between his wings. Chan screamed and Hansol watched numbly.

The nether saw the mongrel before it reached the younger and Hansol tried to call and warn Chan but his stupid voice was nowhere to be found. 

Now, Chan was on his knees, trying to stand up and still fight while he watches him as he lies on the ground. Hansol closed his eyes, the once feeling of self-pity is now turning into self-loathing. The fresh memories of how Seungkwan protected him and new images of Chan fighting the mongrels as he watches flashed in his mind like a stage play showing how worthless he was. He wanted to cry but he was too weak to let his tears flow. He wanted to scream but his energy is just enough for self-detestation. He was too useless that he can't even comfort himself. 

The nether let his anger fill his chest. He let his hatred fill in until it was getting harder and harder for him to breathe. 

"Hansol? Love? Is there something bothering you?" Hansol snapped his eyes open as he heard a very familiar voice. When he opened them, he was greeted by the smiling face of Seungkwan. The Seungkwan who had brown hair, eyes, and wings. 

"I uh-" Hansol thought it was stupid of him to dream things while his comrades are in danger. Because where he was now is definitely not the Weeping Woodlands, and the man he is talking at the moment, is definitely not the Seungkwan he knows. But it was even more stupid for him to know that his weakness has rendered him to be so useless that even in his dream, he is still too weak to talk.

Then Seungkwan took his wrist and pulled him closer, the man then wrapped both of his arms on his neck and kissed his nose. Hansol turned rigid, he can feel every nerve in his body tingle. The kiss felt too real for a dream as the man giggled and looked at him straight on the eyes. 

"Won't you tell it to me, you big oaf?" The man in front of him lovingly asked as he placed a palm on his face while softly caressing it.

"I'm scared." Hansol didn't know where that answer came from. It was definitely not his because truthfully, he was mad at himself for being incompetent, for being weak. If he was just a tad bit stronger, he could have helped Chan and Seungkwan would've never gotten hurt. He was not scared of fighting demon beast or even afraid of dying from fighting them. He is very much willing to sacrifice his life, so no, he is not scared.

The Seungkwan in his dream then breathed a deep sigh from his reply and slowly dropped his gaze to his chest. The man then let his other hand travel to Hansol's chest where Hansol can feel a cold object touch his skin. Green light suddenly seeped out through the nethers chest and Seungkwan slowly took out a glowing green stone suspended on a pendant of a golden necklace.

"I as well, am scared, love. But didn't we all made a promise to trust the mighty one?" Seungkwan looked back at him, his gaze still loving but there was a hint of desperation for convincing.

"Didn't we all promised to follow the light? This light that he has given?" Hansol didn't answer but continued to gaze at the alluring brown orbs staring at him.

"The light that brought us all together, the light that led me to you?" Seungkwan added as he cupped the nethers face once again.

"You told me once that caves are treacherous, but so long as we keep the light glowing, we can always find a way out. So, I beg you my love, do not stop believing the mighty one and follow the light." The green light then started to glow brighter. The image of Seungkwan started to fade away and Hansol tried to reach out to the loving image of the man who was standing in front of him moments ago.

"Follow the light Hansol. Follow the light my love." Those were the last words he heard before the green light invaded his surroundings. The nether closed his eyes as it gradually got brighter, when he opened them once again, he found himself in a space void of nothing. It is a place purely in white, there was no ground for him to step in nor clouds for him to say he was flying. In fact, he has no wings.

"Hansol my brave son." A voice of a man filled the place, Hansol tried to look for it but the voice resonated everywhere.

"You did a splendid job in protecting your love ones. I am so proud of you." For some reason Hansol felt a sense of familiarity. He felt comfortable and warm, secured enough that he can tell all his secrets without second thought. 

"But I'm useless and pathetic. I am nothing but a burden." Hansol wept, letting his tears and sorrows flow.

"Hush now my dear child, for you are no such thing. You are brave, and strong, and smart, and wonderful. And those are only few of the many reasons why I chose you. All you need to do is just remember who you are. Remember your purpose and the reason why you're here. Remember your promise." Hansol was then hit by a tantamount pain in the head, as flashbacks of familiar yet unfamiliar memories filled him. 

He saw memories of a fearful small child crouching inside a chest as a disheveled form of a woman kissed his forehead goodbye.

Then it was followed by a memory of a man sneaking him out of a big castle in the middle of the night. 

After that, he saw his young self, learning the art of fighting as the same man taught him how to wield his mace. 

A painful memory followed, as the man who taught him everything in life was killed in front of him. 

Then, different memories of crowds of people calling his name, calling him the great prince. 

A war where a lot of blood was shed then happened, and the next thing he saw is he's sitting on a throne when a hooded figure of Seungkwan appeared in the middle of the throne room. 

Green light shined, and after that he found himself in a cave where he can make out twelve other silhouettes. "I vow to follow the mighty one, believe in everything he says and follow the light he has given my way." He heard himself say. 

Then everything turned dark, with only a small flicker of green light shining from a far. 

With all the things he saw, there was no doubt in his heart that he already knew what the mighty one wanted him to do. 

It was to follow the light.

And so, he did, without any question. 

Hansol flew to the light, chasing it as it moves hastily. It was still far but he believes he will catch it. Then a deafening growl filled his ears and the mirage he was seeing broke as his vision was filled with the roaring image of the gigantic demon beast. 

Hansol wavered for a moment as he takes in the sight of his hyungs lying on the ground wounded and weak. They are still able to move but some of them are barely able to stand on their feet.

"Hansol get out of there! That monster is too strong to fight on your own!" Seungcheol called out to him, he was about to move back and fly to his brother when he saw a glimmer of green light, that's when he realized what the mighty one wanted him to do, what he should do.

"Hansol please, that demon regenerates. It won't die unless we hit it on its weakest spot." Seungcheol tried to warn him again.

With the memories of a life he has forgotten finally remembered, Hansol turned and looked back at his now older brother. "Hyung, I made a promise to the mighty one, and it's a promise that I am willing to keep. I will follow the light that he has given me. For I know he is with me all the time, protecting and guiding me to the right path."

With those words Hansol summoned his burning mace. An unknown source of energy filled him as the red flames of his weapon slowly turning a soft blue as the nether willed his energy to flourish within him. The fire slowly crept into him, engulfing his being with fire. With a final war cry, the young nether dashed to the demon beast, his mace held tightly on his hand. The nether didn't think twice as he swiftly severed the limbs of the beast. The demon wasn't even able to regenerate as Hansol continuously smashed his way to where the flickering green light can be found.

Only focusing on the green light, Hansol did not even mind as a bony limb of the demon beast pierce through his leg. He didn't even flinch as he harshly took out the severed limb of the beast that was deeply buried on his leg and continued to power through to where the flickering green light can be found.

With a last dodge, the nether finally reached the lower back of the demon beast where the light is flickering and smashed it with all his might. The demon wailed and thrashed but Hansol did not waver as he reached out to the wound and burrowed his bare hand taking out the glowing green stone from the body of the monster. 

As soon as the stone was taken out, the monster wailed but rapidly started to fall apart, leaving Hansol unbothered with the glowing stone on his hand. As the nether took hold of the stone, it glowed brighter and made a link with the necklace dangling on his chest. Then, the lights intensified and the next thing Hansol found is the sleeping figure of Seungkwan sitting beside him.

  
_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * Hansol in his past life, was a missing prince in an ancient kingdom called Sephon. Before becoming one of the thirteen heroes that fought Lilith, Hansol was already a young king governing his peaceful kingdom and was loved by most of his people. Hansol did not have a leisurely life growing up in the past. His parents, the former king and queen were betrayed to death by his uncle, his father’s younger brother. The young Hansol was then left in the care of his father’s best friend, the head of the king’s guard who vowed to protect his prince to death. The man took Hansol with him and fled from the palace, he raised the prince secretly and was successful until his greedy uncle found about him. The wicked man sent his guards to kill the prince but with the help of his adoptive father, who died in his arms, Hansol survived and was able to know the truth. In the following years after his adoptive father’s death, Hansol seek for revenge. He travelled their kingdom to search for men who will aid him in his deed. In his travels, not only did he found people who are willing to help him, he also was awoken by the realization that the people of his kingdom were ruled by a tyrant. So in the end, he started to fight not only for himself but also for his people.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are deeply appreciated. Please tell me what you think ❤❤


	26. The New Path

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hansol dreams of his past and the possible future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we just all pretend that it's still February? I was about to post this yesterday but I fell asleep.

_**Hansol – Weeping Woodlands – Shadow Lands** _

"Yah, Hansol! King Hansol! The mighty Hansol of Sephon! Yah! Choi Hansol! Wake up!" Hansol abruptly opened his eyes as the insistent hand shaking his shoulder strengthen in intensity.

With a grunt, the nether then abruptly closed it from the blaring light directly hitting him.

"I know it was your turn to stay up last night," A brown eyed Wen Junhui cupped his face and was now gazing at him smugly.

"But we're here to gather some wood, not to take a nap. So get up, you can continue sleeping at the camp." The older man continued as he patted the cheeks of the nether and stuffed the remaining twigs on his make shift basket. It did not really shock Hansol when he finally realized that the Jun he was talking was a tad bit different. He reckons the moment he saw the slightly aged face full of stubble and brown eyes of the other man, that whatever he was seeing was probably a dream or another faded memory coming to life. 

"We got to take this back first, these twigs won't walk by themselves you know." Jun called out to him once again as Hansol started to scramble on his feet.

"Well, I can try and look for ways how to in my dreams " The younger replied jokingly, he doesn’t even know where the confidence or the answer came from. His body felt like it his and wasn't at the same time and replying to Junhui like that felt right.

Jun only chuckled at the answer, and continued to stuff the twigs in. They basked under the comforting silence for a little bit as if they've been through thick and thin until Jun started to rant. Though there was no hostility on his voice but pure tenderness.

"Well I would like to indulge you more with your dreams but unlike you sir, I still have some responsibilities to do." Jun was now on his feet, offering a hand to get the younger up so they can start their way back to camp.

"Responsibilities?" Again, Hansol in his consciousness didn't really want to pry on what responsibilities Junhui might have. For all he can remember from the short time he has spent with him and from what he has observed during important social gatherings, Junhui seems to be like a carefree guy.

The man might not be the biggest talker in their small group but Hansol has never seen him ran out of goofy smiles and Minghao has never stopped chiding him for it.

"Yeah, I promised Hao that I'll be the one to give our little boy a bath." Hansol only hummed to the olders reply like he understood what Jun was talking and finally stood up. He was curious but then again, he didn't feel like asking the older.

Brushing off the dried leaves clinging on his vest, he took the other basket full of twigs and hooked the knots that were tied on the sides of the basket on both of his shoulders. Both men then started to walk their way through the lush forest and once again was wrapped with comforting silence.

"Hansol?" Jun suddenly called in a hushed tone. They were walking for quite some time now and frankly, Hansol would have already fallen asleep from the peaceful stillness of the forest if not for the fact that they are moving.

"Hhmm?" The younger replied, not noticing the slightly somber tone of the older man.

"When everything's done, like you know. If we ever live to see the ending, where do you plan to go?" The question took the younger a moment to collect himself. For some reason he felt conflicted, like there are some hidden emotions that keeps him from answering.

"Well, it's not like there’s still a kingdom that I can get back to after what Lilith did." Hansol finally replied and in this moment the nether finally reached a realization about what he is currently experiencing. He is not dreaming, he is seeing a snippet of the past. A past that may also happen in the future.

"However, every time I close my eyes, I can still remember the hopeful faces of my people waiting for my return. So maybe the first thing I'll do is rebuild what was left of the ruins of our kingdom. Help the people get back on their feet." The younger added with conviction and after that paused for a little. 

"Then, maybe after that, I'll be able to fix myself as well." His past self continued, giving him ideas. Ideas that got him questioning himself, about his past, about his emotions. Ideas that maybe he has his own set of inner demons that he needs to fight off.

"That sounds like a plan." Junhui supplies with a small smile then continued to look forward.

"How about you hyung?" His past self queried, whilst glancing at the older man who was beside him.

With a huge grin marring his face the older answered. I might sound like a naive little boy, but wherever Hao chooses to go, I'll follow." 

It was now Jun who paused for a moment to ponder before adding to his earlier statement. "After all, you and I lived a similar kind of tale. However, my tribe has long perished before my eyes, and unlike you who still has people waiting for your return, there is none for me to go back."

Hansol did not reply, he feels rueful for the other but at the same time happy. He didn't know why but it made him feel good as well. Both of them remained silent after the short exchange and it left Hansol ample time to relax once more.

"Hyung's what took you so long!" The thin veil of stillness was once again interrupted by a familiar but slightly mature voice of a young man. Hansol's past self whipped his gaze to were the voice came from and was pleased to see a slightly older version of Chan. 

Unlike his current self, this Chan had black hair and although his wings were still brown his eyes were a deep shade of black. He looked older and a bit buffer. There were obvious scars running through his arms and he looked a bit gruffer, telltale signs that this Chan didn't also had it easy living life in the past. 

However, before Hansol can ponder more on the youngers appearance, Chan’s image began to distort. Hansol suddenly couldn't hear what the younger was talking as if he was deaf. 

Then things started to blur out and Hansol can only make out silhouettes of Jun and Chan. It was starting to get confusing and Hansol was clueless as to what to do. He can still barely see both Jun and Chan, however things got even more unsettling as he heard a number of people screaming, then a distinct voice of a young girl sobbing.

_"No! stop, please! This is not what I meant. This is not what I wanted! Please! Oh heavens! I do not wish for forgiveness for I know I'm not worthy! But please oh mighty one! Please save them! I beg of you! Please!"_

As the pleading continues, the remaining silhouettes of Jun and Chan started to fade and indigo light slowly covered him. Hansol bolted on a run as he tried to chase the fading images of his brothers. He couldn't help but feel tensed as the begging voice turned louder and louder as time ticks. A few moments ago, the nether was very sure that he was seeing a memory of his past. But now, he thinks he's stuck in a nightmare rather than looking through the past.

_"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen. If I can just go back in time and make everything right. I would've never let this happened. I would've made the right choice. I'm so, so sorry."_

As the sobbing voice of the young girl apologized to whoever she was talking to, the purple light that was wrapping Hansol slowly receded. It then centered to a small glowing stone resting as a simple necklace on an unidentified young girls chest. 

Hansol tried to look at the young girls face but was never able to see it clearly. Her face and body looked hazy and before Hansol can look any further, things started to zoom out like he is being thrown up to the sky and the next thing the nether saw is a small town burning to ashes. Everything was destroyed and there were no signs of any human life except for the young girl.

Being high up in the clouds, the nether examined the location of the town, curious as to where it might be located. Beyond the small town high up to the north are three lush mountains. To its west and south are rows of trees that later leads to a large body of water and on its east is just a wide stretch of forest. 

The young nether was still looking around when the unmistakable wailing of the young girl ripped through the air. Hansol watched the indigo light once again brighten up the place enough for Hansol to close his eyes.

“Follow the light Hansol, you always tell me to follow the light.” The light was too bright that it was getting hard for the nether to keep his eyes open. However, as the indigo light covered him, he heard the familiar soft voice of Seungkwan calling to him, telling him to follow the light. 

Then the brightness from the stone became too bright for the nether to handle, he started to become dizzy and the soft voice of Seungkwan started to change in a more panicked tone. 

* * *

"Hansol! Hansol!" Hansol caught himself gasping for air as he woke up from his sleep. He was drenched with sweat and was probably as pale as an unwritten piece of parchment when he finally opened his eyes. In his head, he can still hear the voice of the young girl sobbing so painfully that it took him a moment to grasp his surroundings. 

“Hansol are you alright? How are you feeling?” Hansol was clutching his head when he finally let his gaze linger to the owner of the worried voice. In an instant, a wash of relief suddenly coursed through him as Seungkwan, with his blond hair and blue eyes looked at him with so much concern.

The nether wasn’t able to reply however when his older brother bursted in the brightly lit cave. “Hansol! Hansol how are you? Do you feel weird? Do you need anything? Oh, brother you got me so worried!”

“Hush Seungcheol!” Jisoo stopped the rumbling man from continuously babbling his mouth, and truthfully Hansol was very much thankful for it.

“If I were Hansol Ill probably have the worst headache after hearing you talk like a buzzing bee.” Jisoo continued to scold his brother as the nether watch the rest of his friends slowly gather around him. 

“How are you feeling kid?” Jisoo finally asked him as he took the seat Seungkwan was occupying before the older man came. 

“Tired, dizzy, I feel like my body is tied to a big boulder or something. My limbs feel too heavy.”

“Well, I really wouldn’t wonder why you feel very tired. After running an amok like that and losing such big amounts of energy I expected you to wake up at least after 10 days.” Jisoo replied nonchalantly as he placed a hand on the nethers head and started to check for his condition. Hansol, on the other hand was out of words, just what in the worlds did he do for Jisoo to expect him to be fast asleep for ten days?

“What amok? What did I do? Did I hurt someone?” the nether tried to ask.

“We will tell it all to you later, but first you need to get some sleep and rest. It will help you recover all the energy you lost.” The astral dismissed him quickly.

“B-but-“ 

“Not a word. Sleep first, then we will tell you all.” The astral strictly replied, not leaving any room for argument.

“Now all of you scoot out, that includes you Seungcheol. I know you want to take care of your brother, but trust me he will be better if you give him some time to shut his eyes and sleep.” Hansol can only watch as Seungcheol scowled. Yet, the older still stood up and walked out of the cave.

“Just call me if you need anything.” the older nether said before he completely walked out.

“That also includes you Seungkwan. You should also be resting, not ogling at Hansol. Go back to your bed. I will not leave unless I am sure you are both fast asleep.”

_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * **The glowing stone** – the stone is an integral part of the thirteen heroes quest. In it are the shards of Lilith’s soul that they must find a way to destroy and also a figment of their past self. There is a common trait that every shard has. It may look like a normal crystal if not for the fact that’s glowing, it also has a golden chain incapsulated in the middle of the stone. The crystals color is based on the aura of whosevers past self is guarding the shard of Lilith’s soul. In the previous chapter, the color of the stone was green. This means that the aura Hansol emanates is colored green. 
  * **Green** – this color means safety, reliability, stability and harmony. The abilities needed on a good king to serve his people and kingdom well.



  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry if this got delayed. I was so busy and bitlife had some updates so I just had to play.


	27. The Cliff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting better, but Jun is a bit flustered.

**Jun-Weeping Woodlands – Shadow Lands**

"Hyung, let me help you with that"

"Sure, thanks" Jun gratefully smiled to the younger taller nether, as he heaves a few of his and Minghao’s rucksacks on their respective griffins. Mingyu beamed him a smile in return and started to gather their things, tying them up on the beasts back just like how Junhui would do it. 

Packing their things didn't took long to finish with the nether helping him. In fact, Jun could've done it by himself. They really didn't have much, just a sack of their clothes and a few pots for cooking. However, he enjoys the company of the younger nether, or even the other men other than his brothers from the middle grounds. 

With them, he feels free. He found a new kind of comfort in the few tensed days that he has spent with them and to Jun it was liberating. It sounds crazy and Jun would admit to it but, out of the three realms and beyond the unknown, Junhui finally felt grounded. 

Back in their huge manors, Jun would always get reprimanded for his bottomless amount of energy.

" _Jun my dear child, would you please settle down and stay on your seat_ "

" _Junhui! Goodness! Look at you! How many times do I have to tell you that you should not play with the children outside of the manor?! Look at you! You look like a commoner_."

" _This is not how a noble like you should behave Junhui. Nobles are models, so you must be in your prime condition all the time."_

But out here, he can be himself.

_"Wow Junhui you're amazing. How can you be so good in hunting?"_

He can do whatever he wants.

_"I will be the next white panther of the tribe! So I have to be the best! And besides, you promised to be by my side forever, so in return I promise to keep you safe all the time. I'll be the best for you Hao."_

He is free.

"Is that all hyung?" Mingyu asked as the nether tied the last knot. Jun didn't realize he was rigidly standing without anything at hand, musing at dreams he shouldn’t be thinking as of the moment. Thank goodness Mingyu was not looking.

"Yeah, thanks a lot Mingyu." The middle grounder replied as soon as he got his bearings.

"No problem hyung, just call me if you need any help." Mingyu replied innocently with a smile readying himself to walk back to the cave and give a helping hand to anyone in need.

"Likewise," the older replied with a smile before remembering something.

"Say Mingyu, would I be a bother if I help you with making the food?" The older asked hesitantly.

"I mean just looking at you cooking a heap of food the night before by yourself seems tiring. " Jun continued, defending himself even if there was no need to do so.

"And, I've really wanted to learn how to cook but there wasn't really any opportunity for me." And there it goes. The real reason why he wanted to help was because he was interested in cooking as well. 

Jun has always been interested in cooking. However, his parents wouldn’t even let him stand near the kitchen, saying that a noble like him doesn’t fit in doing such lowly job of cooking. They said that since he is a noble and is destined to rule the realm together with the other nobles, he does not need to learn such lowly skill.

"No worries hyung, I may not be the best cook out here, but I'll try my best to teach you." Mingyu replied with a smile brighter than before.

"And your duty starts tonight." The younger added with a smile before walking back to the cave.

Jun heaved a sigh at the retreating sight of the younger nether. Things where literally looking good around now. The forest once covered with kalypdry trees was now starting to blossom with life. The toxic trees that once covered it all wilted in an instant as soon as the gigantic demon beast died. After the gruesome happenings, small trees started to grow. Then another day passed and the forest is covered again, but now with normal trees of different varieties. 

The black water running through the Syn river started to clear up as well. As the hellish inhabitant of it perish, so is the toxic essence of hell. The water gradually cleared up. From the black murky water, it slowly turned crystal clear. It was even safe for drinking, though the astrals said it would be better if they still cleanse it. Jun heard Jisoo said it was better to be safe than never, however, he also heard the man said that life will comeback to the once pristine river in no time. 

By the morning, for the first time in the few days he had stayed in the forest, he finally heard birds chirping. And if he saw Seungcheol stumbling out ungracefully of the cave to check if it was really real, he promised the older to not say a word about it.

However, with all the good things that happened to them comes the strange dreams that Jun couldn't figure out. They come in snippets, all in different scenarios. Some are light, leaving Jun to feel happy and at ease. Yet, there were some that wakes the middle grounder with cold sweat in the middle of the night.

As Jun sat himself on a small boulder outside the cave waiting for the others whilst trying to distract himself, the man let out a groan as he saw the trudging figure of Minghao carrying a sleeping mat on his back.

"Hao, what are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be resting?" The older asked concerned and slightly pissed by how the younger man doesn't seem to have any regard for his health.

"Hyung I'm not a child, and besides, my wounds are nothing but small scratches now." The younger huffed but his gaze was anywhere except for Jun.

"And should I also ask the same thing to you? You were heavily injured, yet here you are doing all the things we should be doing by ourselves." Minghao added, still not looking.

"Hao, I was injured, that is true. However, it wasn't as bad as you, Soonyoung and Chan had. I've completely healed, which gives me no excuse to just sit and watch you all struggle when I can do it by myself. And besides I was never alone doing it, I had helping hands." The older reasoned out, this time much calmer.

"Bu-but"

Minghao was not able to reply as the younger felt Jun softly but firmly cupping his face to look at him. "You worry for me too much Hao, and I appreciate it a lot. But now, let me be the one to worry and take care of you this time."

"Uhmm, Junhui-ssi, Minghao-ssi we'll be heading out in a few moments. I just wanted to ask if everything is set in your end." Seungcheol bashfully asked whilst Jun almost stumbled, ass first to the ground if not for his instant reflexes that allowed him to firmly wrap an arm around the younger middle grounders shoulder. 

"Uh yes Seungcheol-ssi." Jun stuttered a reply.

"And we would be really more comfortable if you will just call us by our names. Makes it sound more friendlier I guess." The older middle grounder added, letting out a hesitant laugh in between. 

"Then in return, just call me Seungcheol hyung instead." The older nether replied before patting the shoulders of the middle grounders and walking back to the cave. 

* * *

"Basing from Hansol and Minghao's dreams the mighty one is leading us to the East. And if our interpretations of the dreams that Minghao and Hansol have is correct, then that means we will need to find a small burned out town and the last surviving person in it." Jun listened to Seungcheol thinking out loudly as the rest of them mount on their respective traveling beasts. 

"And basing from the map here, there is indeed a small town deep within the forest. It can be found beyond the cliffs. They call it as "Trahir." Wonwoo added as he studies the crumpled map on his hands.

"How long do you think will it take for us to reach it?” Soonyoung asked while grunting as he positions himself comfortably. The middle grounder was still having a hard time sitting himself from all the bandages wrapped around his torso, not to mention the once wrapped around his back where he broke a few bones on his wings from his bad landing. Jun was about to jump down from his beast to help his friend but Jihoon beat him to it.

"About a day or two. Depends on how we travel. If our beast travels by foot it will take quite longer compared to if they fly." Wonwoo answered, still looking at the map on his hands. 

"I know that we are in a hurry, yet, if we fly, there is a higher risk that Lilith’s underlings might see us. We cannot risk that.” Seungcheol said as he let his gaze travel around the others.

"Also, the others are not completely healed, it will be very dangerous if any of Lilith’s minions sees us.” Jeonghan added in a soft voice. 

Everybody agreed that it will be safer for them to travel by land. With the tall trees covering their tracks, the heroes started their journey once again to the unknown. Stopping for a few moments to give their beasts short breaks before continuing again, in less than two days they reached the cliff.

“Hyungs is that the cliff we are looking for?” Chan said as he squints his eyes to see clearly. The rest of the men perk up on their saddles, and even Jun who was about to fall asleep on top of his griffin suddenly shoot up.

The heroes immediately made their way to the cliff, ready to find their way down and look for the destroyed town.

However, they immediately halted on their tracks as they saw a boulder. On the foot of it lies a human skeleton, most of it is covered with moss. 

_“Forgotten by men and cursed by God,_   
_Those who look shall find none,_   
_Death will follow,_   
_And to hell you will all be gone,_   
_Only whom she betrayed,_   
_Shall seek her out.”_

**Facts about the Fic:**

  * Deep down the Syn river, there is really no portal that allows the demon beast to come through unlike the popular stories that has been passed since the old times. The reason why the Weeping Woodlands was filled with dark miasma is because of the mere existence of the demon beast that has taken refuge in its once clear waters. The demonic creature is one of the few special species that Lilith created when she still had her full demon abilities. Yoon Jeonghan, heir to the astral family of Yoon, together with Jeon Wonwoo heir to the nether family of Jeon, decided to take notes and study these special creatures through their travels. As of the moment, from the observations of the two, not much is known about these creatures other than that they have the ability to pollute a large sum of land by emitting dark miasma. They have long slimy bodies, with some parts of it covered in thorn-like appendages. They might also have the ability to shape-shift but there is not enough evidence to prove it. For now, the two will continuously study these beasts for the betterment and safety of humanity. 



  
**Who do you think is next???**

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually planned to post this last sunday, since I kinda made sunday as my unofficial update day but, this chapter was waaaay beyond ready so here it is after 2 days. Also since classes are suspended and there are no students to teach because of the corona virus (we're in a community lockdown right now ), I have more than enough time to write more updates before the next school year starts since I've got nothing to do (I haven't really finished summing up my students final grades, but that can wait a little). So y'all can expect more updates in the following days.
> 
> On the other hand, I hope you guys like this update. I know it's still a filler chapter but it let us see deeper into the lives of our heroes. I didn't want you guys to just see them as the 13 dudes who are fighting a demon just because they were destined too. They are more than that and I'll try my best to show it to y'all in the next chapters.
> 
> Byeeeee and God bless us all. I hope none of y'all contracts the corona virus. Stay healthy, take your vitamins and drink a lot of water.


	28. The Mirage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihoon suddenly remembers his past, but is really just from the past or is it way beyond?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is brought to you by "Soonyoung's furry agenda" and "Horanghae song"(seriously that song is still playing on my head, and whoever edited it on that bollywood movie I swear!!!)

**_Jihoon - The Cliffs to Trehir_ **

**_“Forgotten by men and cursed by God,_ **  
**_Those who look, shall find none,”_ **

_"You're beautiful."_

_"And you're strange."_

**_“Death will follow,_ **  
**_And to hell you will all be gone,”_ **

_"I'm Soonyoung. It's a pleasure to meet you Jihoon._ "

_"Well, it is not a pleasure for me. Now get away from here and stay away from me."_

**_“Only whom she betrayed,_ **  
**_“Shall seek her out.”_ **

_"You said you travel the world, is that why you are so good in reading foreign scriptures?"_

_"Yes"_

  
"Soonyoung, how in the realms are you able to read those?" Jihoon has never whipped his head so fast in this lifetime before, that is until he heard Wonwoo, with full exasperation asked how can Soonyoung read ancient foreign scriptures.

"I uh, you can't read it? All of you?" Soonyoung asked innocently, looking around as if hoping someone would say they can. 

Frankly, in Jihoon's opinion, Soonyoung looked and sounded dumb after asking his stupid question. However, he didn't have the heart to say it so bluntly after considering the fact that the man almost died to save him. "Soonyoung, we wouldn't have asked you if we knew how to read it." Jihoon opted to reply with a stoic face after seeing how dumbfounded the others were.

"Oh uh, I-I don't know. For some reason I can just read it like our normal scriptures." Soonyoung replied, looking confused but proud of himself at the same time.

"Wow hyung, I didn't even knew you can read." Chan quipped behind his older brother innocently. Jihoon almost bursted out a laugh if not for the fact that they were in a serious situation. However, Junhui and Wonwoo on the other hand were on the verge of tears whilst laughing their guts out while, Minghao was having the hardest time of his life controlling his laughter and reducing it to quiet giggles.

"What language is this even? This looks way too ancient for me." Mingyu tried to divert the attention back to the writings on the stone, although he was suppressing a wide grin as well. The tall nether climbed down from his salamander and scraped some of the mosses to clear out the writings.

"This looks like Herbergan. I can actually make out some of the words but I can't read it easily like Soonyoung does." Jeonghan said as he climbs down from his cockatrice to look closely at the writings.

"Me too, I do think it is Herbergan." Seungkwan added. The young astral, albeit still sporting a few broken ribs, went down with a little groan from his beast as well and ran a hand on the stone. 

"It looks familiar. I've probably seen it somewhere." The younger continued, still looking at the scriptures.

"The writings are the same as the ones that were framed on father's study, brother. It is also alike to the writings on that framed scroll at the grand stairs back home." Jeonghan supplied, and if Jihoon looks back, he does remember that long scroll of ancient writings displayed at the Yoon’s. That would be the first thing a guest would see the moment they come through the ginormous doors of the manor. He also remembers during his history lessons that the Yoon’s are descendants of a secluded clan found in the highest cliffs of a mountain beyond the three realms. This clan is called the Herberga, or the mountain seers.

"Well, that explains why both of you can read it." Jihoon added. "Although that doesn't really explain how Soonyoung can read it, still-"

"Maybe I'm secretly intelligent all these times." This time, Jihoon couldn’t help himself but scoff sarcastically. 

"Hyung, you might have aced your ancient incantation studies, but the rest of the middle grounds knew you flunked the rest." Minghao sighed, looking unamused at the older male. Jihoon can hear Seungcheol suppressing a laugh behind him, and Seungcheol was not one to laugh at someones misfortune. For Jihoon knew the man has been carrying a heavy load on his chest for some time now and knows how bad it feels. However, the crimson face of the middle grounder and the unexpected pout that marred his face might have lightened the mans heart allowing him to now smile and grin. 

And as if Minghao’s remark was not enough, Wonwoo decided to add more to it. "Soonyoung, even I in the nether realm knew about it. Auntie came down to drink some tea with mother whilst joking about how you miraculously were able to pass your incantation studies.

“Yah Jeon Wonwoo, aren’t you supposed to be on my side? Why are you throwing me off the boat like this?” Soonyoung finally whined.

“Kwon Soonyoung, you and I being close doesn’t settle the score you have with me.” Wonwoo added, and Jihoon wonders what kind of relationship they have to casually speak like that to one another. Is it akin to Jeonghan and Seungcheol? Or is it more than that, Jihoon can only wonder.

“Alright, we can talk about Soonyoung’s failed tests later, we must first deal with whatever is written on that rock.” Jihoon let a small smile escape his lips as he looked at the middle grounder. Soonyoung was gaping, the look of unbelief marring his face after hearing Seungcheol’s words. He looked stupid but on the other hand, adorable and Jihoon is having a hard time taking Seungcheol seriously with that look on the other’s face. So, with the most stoic face he can put, the astral reached out to Soonyoung’s chin and closed his mouth hastily. “Close your mouth, you look stupid.” He then said.

With the distracting look of Soonyoung out of the way, the astral was finally able to listen to the others carefully. 

“I’m sure what ever is written on this rock is a warning, but the thing is we have no idea what it is warning us though?” Jihoon heard Jisoo, quietly muse in front of him, though most of them heard what the other said clearly.

“Maybe there is a hidden treasure inside the forest en route to the town? Or maybe there are some demon beast preying on travelers?” Seokmin answered and everybody went silent. They were trying to weigh the ideas of his younger brother.

“Or there must be something within the town? Remember Hansol’s dream? The girl was wearing a necklace, right? There must be some kind of connection?” His younger brother added, Jihoon couldn’t be prouder of him.

“That makes sense. If that stone really is a shard of Lilith’s soul it might cause harm to anything that holds it if it is handled in the wrong way.” Seungcheol finally said.

“And if it is within the town, maybe this warning is used to ward people away?” Mingyu added, however, before anybody can give their opinion, the unmistakable stomping of hooves where heard. In fear that who ever were approaching are accomplices of Lilith, the heroes together with their beast blended themselves through the thick forest and observed the new comers quietly.

A few moments later, what seemed to be just a few stomping of hooves changed into a parade of people. The heroes watched in silence as a white horse drags a golden cart which on top of it carries what seemed to be a golden palanquin. After it, a number of various men and women followed. They were all clad in long white hooded capes, each of them carrying various sizes of white candle. They were mumbling incantations far from any language Jihoon had learn in his lifetime. The heroes eyed the procession curiously as it went deeper inside the forest. All of them feeling uneasy from the strange sight. 

“Now to be honest, a procession is the last thing Im expecting in the middle of the forest.” Jeonghan’s voice echoed inside Jihoon as the older linked them all through his channeling.

“I never even expected to see one, especially inside a forest.” Seungcheol commented.

“Trust me, we live in treehouses and not once did we do a procession in the middle of the forest. Not to mention they are even dragging a palanquin with them makes me wonder what in the realms are they doing?” Jun added to the older nethers comment.

“They are sacrificing whoever is in that palanquin.” Silence wrapped the place as soon as Soonyoung left the remark, obvious dreading laced within his tone and facial expression. Then, all eyes were on him in an instant, in every gaze was a mixture of shock, fear, and confusion all perfectly melded in one.

“Hyung, what do you mean sacrifice?” Seungkwan almost shouted through the channel, there was distress lingering on his tone.

“Oh Queen of the night, Mother of darkness”  
“We offer thyself onto thee”  
“Oh dear Mother, full of power and greatness”   
“Blesseth this town with your absolute prowess”  
“Oh Queen of the night, Mother of darkness”  
“We offer thee this human sacrifice”  
“Oh dear Mother, full of power and greatness”   
“Blesseth this town with your absolute prowess”

“I have no idea how I understood it but that’s what those incantations meant.” Soonyoung added after relaying everything he heard from the people joining the procession. Everybody was out of words once again, pondering every single thing Soonyoung had said.

“If Soonyoung is right, the chants that they said mentions a town.” Jihoon murmured through the channel pondering for a few moments before making a connection. 

“Wonwoo are there any towns other than Trehir around the forest?” Jihoon asked after scrutinizing the words translated by Soonyoung. Jihoon watched the nether fumble for a bit with the crumpled map on his satchel, then Wonwoo slowly lifted his head and shook it left to right.

“Well, there seems to be none.” The nether then spoke through the channel.

"All I see after it are endless expanses of trees, then a big mass of water that seems to go beyond the map.” Wonwoo added after taking another look.

An explosion was then heard before anybody spoke. Deep within the forest numerous screams of anguish filled the air as explosions came after the other. Jihoon and the others allowed their senses to be on full alert as they all unanimously decided to make way inside the forest. Because albeit good or not, those people still need help and none of them are willing to deprive help to those people if needed. After all, it was a promise that they had made.

With his blades hovering behind him, Jihoon followed the others as they rode their beast through the forest. They hastily made their way inside as they followed the screaming voices. However, as they continuously made way to the forest, Jihoon and the rest of the astrals felt something strange.

“Am I the only one who feels it’s getting harder to breathe? My chest hurts” Seungkwan complained as he heaved a deep breath.

“I was about to ask as well.” Seokmin added as he takes a deep breath as well.

“This place is very impure. Yet somehow, the dark miasma doesn’t show.” Jisoo finally spoke, answering the complaints of the younger astrals.

“Cast your cleansing spells, it will get harder and harder for you to breathe if you don’t.” Jisoo added. 

With their cleansing spell activated, they were finally able to breathe properly again and continued to follow the screams that were permeating inside the forest.

As they continuously followed the screams, the heroes were finally led to a big boulder that seems to be covering a clearing where the people are probably located. Without any doubt, Jihoon and the rest flew into the clearing ready to help and fight whatever it was causing the chaos.

However, what Jihoon saw the moment he went through was not what he expected it to be. 

There was no clearing. There was no chaos. There were no screaming people, and most especially, he was alone.

He was alone in the middle of a room that moments later turned into a huge banquet hall full of people. It was room full of people who were looking at him like he has done something wrong, something so abominable that there was a look of disgust and hatred marred on each of their faces. 

_“He doesn’t look like a noble?”_

Suddenly Jihoon is home and back to the times when he hated himself.

_“Is that the heir of the Lees’? he looks weak.”_

Jihoon felt his chest constrict. The familiar feeling of shame is slowly eating him.

_“That small child will not be able to handle the pressures of being a noble.”_

Jihoon slowly closed his eyes and covered his ears as he willed himself to shut the voices. He won’t let them get to him this time.

_“I think his younger brother is more suited to be the heir.”_

Jihoon tried hard to not listen but the murmurs heightened in volume and tears slowly dropped from his eyes.

_“You’re beautiful”_

Jihoon opened is eyes to a familiar looking boy who had hazel brown hair and slightly slanted green eyes. His cheeks full and red from the very intense smile he was showing him even though he looks a bit embarrassed.

Hearing the words from the young boy stopped Jihoon’s tears, suddenly everything was quiet. The voices stopped talking and the only thing that matters is the young boy in front of him. He kneeled down so that he was in the same level of the boy. The boy then immediately made his way to him and reached his face with his chubby little hands to wipe his tears.

_“You’re beautiful”_ the young boy repeated. Jihoon finally looked directly at the boy, gazing at the familiar green orbs that makes him feel safe.

“Soonyoung” Jihoon uttered unconsciously. He didn’t new the reason why he called the boy like that but he felt compelled to do it. After hearing the other’s name come out of his lips, the boy smiled even brighter. Then, his image started to fade away and darkness slowly covered him.

* * *

“Jihoon! Jihoon wake up! Im here! Hey!” Jihoon felt his eyes slowly open. He was confused. When did he fell asleep and why is he asleep?

“What happened?” the astral asked, still feeling out of it.

“Thank goodness you’re awake. I think we were trapped in a mirage earlier. I got out of mine because you were screaming my name so loudly.” Soonyoung replied as he looked down to where Jihoon was. It was at that moment when Jihoon realized that Soonyoung was cradling him on his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around his body and Jihoon was holding onto his clothes as if it was his only chance of living.

“Where are the others?” Jihoon asked as he scrambles out of the other’s embrace.

“That’s what I’m wondering, I couldn’t find the others, even Chan.”

  
**Facts about the Fic:**

  * Herberga – they are known as the mountain seers. This clan lives high above the mountains of what they now called as the Black Rock. Many knows about their existence but not much is known about their culture or even the exact location of the clan.   




  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be posted hours ago, however I had to finish summing up all of my students grades (honestly I think I have mastered the art of writing the number 7 because of it).


	29. The Sheltered One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naïve and alone, Chan tries to run.

_**Chan - The treacherous jungle to Trehir** _

  
“Hyung! Soonyoung hyung?! Jun hyung?! Minghao hyung?! Anybody..." With his voice softly dwindling into pitiful sobs, Chan has finally allowed himself to fall down in what seemed to be a very rocky dirt road. There in the middle of nowhere, the young middle grounder cried and cried from fear and confusion.

  
It was dark and he was cold and most especially, alone. The young man who was always beside his older brother like a shadow was now all by himself, fearful and confused.

  
"Hyung? Where are you? What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do without you?" With his voice harshly quivering through the middle of darkness, Chan once again called out hopelessly. He honestly didn't know what to do. All his life his parents and older brother were there for him, always ready to guide him, to instruct him on what to do and where to go. He was born following instructions and he believes that he is bound to follow them until his grave. But now that his parents are out of the picture and his older brother is nowhere to be found, Chan is confronted with something he thinks he has never done before. It was to decide for himself.

  
The young middle grounder continued to cry, tears and snot mixing as he sobs his heart out from the realization. Before, every decision he makes was influenced mostly by his parents so he was always assured that he was making the right choices. Now, he has no clue as to what he should do. He was unsure of things and the pressure of choosing the right things are eating him alive. He was full of doubts with himself, deeming that he was useless and nonfunctional until he saw a pack of shadow mongrels. Immediately, the middle grounder tensed. His sobs were reduced to shivers as the pack of demon beasts sniff through the air. Sooner or later the demonic hounds will find him and he has to do something before it was all too late.

  
Closing his eyes, Chan tried to think. He thought of what his parents will say in this kind of situation. Then, he tried to think of what will his Soonyoung hyung tell him. His hyung usually doesn't let him fight, the older would opt to have him stand in the far end of the battle and maybe allow him to poke the demon beast if it comes near him. He was always protected. 

  
When Lilith first showed up and they had to fight demon beasts to find the source, Chan only waited for Instructions and obeyed every single thing Jisoo said. Even during the battle with the ginormous demon beast at the Syn river a few days ago, Chan was never allowed to go near it. Instead, he was told to defend the unconscious bodies of Seungkwan and Hansol to any meager demon beast that might harm them. Weighing all the times that he was with his brother during fights, Chan can almost hear his older brother telling him to run, never look back and hide. 

  
Nodding to himself as if he actually heard his older brother saying the words, the young middle grounder took in a deep breath and dashed through the darkness. Stumbling here and there as he runs through big tree roots and mossy rocks. 

  
Chan continued to run and run. He continued to run and refused to stop even if his chest is constricting in pain from the lack of air. He continued to run even if both his legs beg him to at least take a short break. He continued to run even if his vision was slowly turning dark. He continued to run and only stopped once he saw street lights from a town afar.

* * *

  
"Chan, brother! Where are you?" Soonyoung screamed at the top of his voice in search of his younger brother. By his side, he can see Jihoon walking silently, hands balled into tight fists and deep dark blue eyes shining brightly. They were both in the middle of the forest for quite some time now in search for their brothers and friends.

  
"I can't find them." Jihoon finally spoke after a moment of silence. His voice was filled with a mixture of resignation, fear and sadness.

  
"I've sent so many chimes but none of them responded. Even Jeonghan hyung who is the most sensitive out of all of us would've received it by now." The astral added as he slowly wrapped his arms around himself.

  
"And-and Seokmin, my own brother. He should've been the first one to feel it. That oaf may not be the best in telepathy but astrals who are closely related by blood have a special link that even distance can't separate." Jihoon is trembling, eyes watery and is now grabbing a fistful of hair.

  
"He should've tapped my consciousness moments after I sent the first chime. It's been probably almost an hour now but not once did I felt him." Jihoon finally slumped to the ground as tears flowed through. Soonyoung was quick to pick him back up and embrace him tightly, tucking him securely as he tries to comfort the shorter male.

  
"The only reason he's not responding is his either unconscious or worst-" Jihoon paused and Soonyoung felt he almost stopped breathing as well.

  
"He's d-dead." Soonyoung fell rigid after hearing the astral spoke. He was left blanched and speechless. The reality of it happening was not far from their current condition. They can die or lose someone at any given time from this mission, and Soonyoung can only imagine the pain from losing Chan or any of his friends.

  
"Don't worry Jihoon, we will find them. We will find both of our brothers. We'll get through this." Soonyoung finally spoke after a few moments filled with sobs, he tries to comfort the astral and himself as well with assurances.

  
Assurance that he himself is not sure as well.

  
Soonyoung too was about to lose it. They have paused a couple of times to allow Soonyoung to see through the energies flowing through the forest. However, other than the trees that strangely have the same amount of energy running through them whether big or small, there were no other living things. It was something very unusual for a forest covered with greenery to not even have one single living organism. Soonyoung has tried and tried to look for even just one insect whilst looking for his younger brother, but after so many attempts, Soonyoung concluded there was none. This idea has not sat well with the middle grounder and he was about to share it to the astral before Jihoon broke down.

  
Adding this newfound discovery to what Jihoon might think have happened to his younger brother, Soonyoung couldn't help but worry more for the youngest middle grounder.

  
For Chan is still young and naïve. His brother grew up under the tender and loving arms of his parents. He was cushioned with care and enveloped with warmth, not once did he felt the pressure of just being alive. Unlike Soonyoung, who was trained to become the next best swordsman in the middle grounds after his father, his parents did not see the importance of gruelingly training their youngest son with sharp objects at a young age. Instead, they allowed Chan to live in a happy harmless dream. After all, it was Soonyoung who will take after his father's position and Chan will only be there to be a part of his court.

  
But now that the dreamlike walls that his parents built around his brother has long been shattered after coming out with them to the realms, Soonyoung is now doubtful if agreeing with his parents that Chan should be shrouded with nothing but happiness was the right thing.

  
Will his younger brother fare out without him? Will Chan be able to protect himself alone? Soonyoung can only wonder nervously as he draws comforting circles on Jihoon's back.

  
"Please Soonyoung we need to find them. I need to find my brother. Seokmin is the only one I got, he's the only person who believes me when everybody doesn't." Soonyoung heard Jihoon mumble ruefully on his chest.

  
Hearing the other pleading to him very sadly, the middle grounder found new strength. He wrapped the astral tighter unto his chest and hopes his newfound strength reaches the other. "I promise you that no matter what, we will find them. We will find our brothers and we will be with them together again."

**Facts about the Fic:**

  * Chiming – Chiming is like echolocation to astrals. This method is widely used by astrals during emergencies to locate their families and friends. It’s a telepathic communication excluding vocabulary. With normal telepathy, one can hear the exact voice and emotion the sender conveyed. In chiming however, the sender can only make a unique signature disturbance in the wavelengths of their environment and send it out in hopes that the astral they are looking for receives it. Once the other end receives the chime, it will register in their minds like a sound of a bell, thus the reason why it’s called a chime. They will then chime back signaling that they have received it. Chiming also has some restrictions. If the one receiving the chime is in any form unconscious or in worst scenario, has passed away, they will not receive the chime. 



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing to say, just drink water and vitamins and stay safe..


	30. The  Coward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan sees something that led him to a realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of tortue a head. Just a tiny bit.

_**Chan - Unidentified Town - Beyond the three realms** _

  
"Watch where you're going, idiot?” Chan stumbled on his steps as a burly man harshly bumped into him. The young man confused and scared, immediately bowed to the older stranger and offered continues strings of apologies until the rude man started to walk away. It was almost noon and Chan has been wondering the unfamiliar town all alone since the break of daylight. He arrived at the said town by dawn and has only made a few stops at lonely alleyways where no one tends to pass by. The young middle grounder clung into his cloak a little tighter as he felt his stomach grumble for the umpteenth time. He can feel the feathers on his wings shift uncomfortably but the young man decided to keep it in that way in fear that the people might notice and detest him. 

For there is something very strange that Chan immediately noticed as soon as he saw the people, it was something the young man has not even imagined to see.

It was like a strange dream. To see people without wings.

Wherever Chan go, the middle grounder would always make sure to look at the people around him. He desires to see at least one person don a pair of wings, but alas, none of them were. 

It was also one of the reasons why the middle grounder was hesitant to make contact with any person and would foolishly opt to starve himself rather than buy a meal in one of the small taverns.

There was another strange thing around the town as well. In the short time that Chan has been wandering inside, not once did he saw a child. He hasn’t even seen someone around his age, just a questionable amount of adults shopping around and doing business. 

The young boy continued to aimlessly walk around the strange town with his head bowed low until he felt dizzy. Chan figures that it might be the hunger and tiredness finally getting into him so he decided to once again crouch on a dark alleyway that he passed by earlier. There were piles of used sacks at one side of the dim alley which the middle grounder used to cover himself as he decided to take a short nap. 

The short nap that the middle grounder decided to take lasted more than he expected. When Chan awoken from his slumber, everything was dark. The street lamps of the town already lit as he staggers to stand up from the pile of sacks he had covered himself with. 

About to walk away from the rubbish he was in, the middle grounder suddenly halted from his steps when the sound of trumpets and drums that unmistakably followed a certain rhythm filled the air. 

Crouching back to where he came from, the young man bumped his knee on a metal surface that he earlier did not notice. Removing the remaining sacks that was covering the metal surface, Chan unraveled a small metal door. 

Opening it up, Chan unconsciously stopped his breathing only to see nothing but a hollow space enough to lie on. Grunting from his uneventful discovery, the middle grounder allowed his attention to divert back to the sounds of the trumpets. The thumping of drums has ceased but the trumpets bellowed even more harshly as twilight reached its end.

The middle grounder curious but scared, slowly made his way to the streets. He carefully crept through the shadows, mindful not to make any sounds that might attract people to come to his direction. However, what he saw next was something he definitely did not expected.

Clad in white hooded cloaks, people slowly emerged out of their houses carrying white candles. Their faces looked unreadable, eyes hollow of any feelings. From the middle grounder’s perspective, they all lack any sense of emotion. It was like they were alive but dead at the same time.

Chan continued to look around through the shadows until pained screams filled the air. The middle grounder followed the voice only to be led in the middle of the town where a golden palanquin stands, a crying girl about his age chained and disheveled right next to it.

The girl of pale skin and black hair was full of bruises and small wounds. It didn’t matter which part of her body you look, there will always be a patch of purple and blue marred on it. 

Chan can only imagine the pain that the girl was going through as she was harshly yanked up by the hair to stand on her wobbly feet. The tears on her eyes never ceased to fall and the middle grounder has never felt so guilty in his life. He wanted to help, he badly wanted to. But he was alone, he didn’t stand a chance against the huge crowd that seemed to feel nothing for the screaming girl. So even with his conscience eating him, the middle grounder only bit his lips and watched as a man hit the girl through the head leaving her unconscious. With the body unmoving, the man then stuffed the girl with ease inside the palanquin.

Chan allowed his vision to tail the procession that followed after. He watched through gritted teeth as people followed the white horse that carried the golden palanquin. 

“They will sacrifice whoever is in that palanquin” 

His face then paled as he heard the towns people mumble in a very synced manner, remembering what he saw and what his brother said gave him chills. With a heavy heart, the middle grounder ruefully walked his way back to the corner of the dark alleyway, he opened up the small metal door hidden under the piles of sacks and slumped inside not before closing it. Hugging himself in the darkness, he closed his eyes as heavy tears poured out of him. He couldn’t believe everything, how heartless people can get and most especially how much of a coward he is. He couldn’t believe how he proudly called himself a noble once but did nothing to stop the torture unfolding right in front of him.

Now that his brothers voice is clearly reverberating through his head, Chan has no idea if he still has the courage to look or face his brother ever again. 

For Chan believes that no one deserves to see the face of a coward like him. Nobody needs to look at a man who did nothing but cower behind the shadows. Chan believes that the noble Kwon’s deserves better, and he is not cut out for the title of a Kwon. 

* * *

“Soonyoung” the said middle grounder felt soft hands wrapping around his tightly. Soonyoung whip around and albeit worried, was mesmerized at what he saw. With deep blue eyes shining and full of hope, Jihoon smiled at him. There were tears threatening to fall from his eyes but Soonyoung can feel it was far from grief. 

“Jihoon wha-“ Soonyoung was not able to finish what he was about to say before the astral lunge himself to the middle grounder. Jihoon was hugging him tightly, the astrals arms wrapped securely around his neck. Soonyoung allowed his hands to travel on their own accord and wrapped the sniffling man in a tight embrace, softly rocking them both like a slow dance.

“I finally found him.” Jihoon spoke as he buries his face deeper between the crook of Soonyoung’s neck.

“I finally found Seokmin.” Jihoon added as he slowly lifted his head to look directly at Soonyoung. The middle grounder froze the moment his gaze landed on the astral. There were tears streaming unstoppably down his cheeks and Soonyoung can’t help but feel nostalgic by it. It felt strangely familiar, like the image in front of him was something he already saw. The feeling of his arms enveloping around the astral felt right, like it was meant to have Jihoon tightly tucked onto his chest.

Then, the look of hope slowly morphed into sadness as Soonyoung continuously stares at the deep blue eyes of the astral. It was like watching a burning tree of hope gradually turn into ashes. Eying the change of demeanor on the astral, Soonyoung felt his nerves heightened. Uneasiness slowly creeping into him as he remembers his own brother. 

“Chan is not with them though. I’m sorry.” Jihoon finally broke the tensed silence, giving Soonyoung time to finally process one of the things he didn’t want to hear. With the dreadful news of his younger brother still missing, the tight hold that Soonyoung had on the astral slowly loosened.

“Soonyoung I tried to look for him to, I really did. But no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t find him. Please believe me Soonyoung. I’m so, so sorry.” He can hear Jihoon apologizing in the background but to Soonyoung, the astrals voice was slowly getting smaller and smaller. 

The thought of his younger brother in danger almost brought the middle grounder into his knees. There is a strong tremble in his core that’s progressively shaking his entire being and Soonyoung was glad that Jihoon was there to hold him. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to calm down as he felt the astral maneuver his arms from his neck to his torso. He permitted himself to bask in the warmth that the astral offered and willed himself to think positively. Heaving a deep sigh, Soonyoung finally opened his eyes, determination and his remaining hope carved into it.

“I believe in you Jihoon, I have no doubts. You did your best and I’m grateful for that. There is nothing for you to be sorry with, so please do not blame yourself. Youve found your brother and that’s great news.” Soonyoung finally spoke, a slight tremble can obviously be heard from in his voice.

“I am scared for my brother, I truly am. Yet, Im happy for you, so do not fret. I will find my brother and I believe that the mighty one will not fail to help me. I believe in him and in his powers. He brought Seokmin back to you so I am sure he will bring Chan back to me if I work harder.” The middle grounder continued as he closed his eyes once again and softly landed his forehead on the astrals shoulder.

  
Facts about the Fic: 

  * In this world, everybody is born with a pair of wings. Even back in the ancient times, people don birdlike wings ranging from the different shades of brown. It is an anomaly to be born without one and people believed that if one does not have wings they are cursed. However, the removal of wings is not uncommon. Criminals of highest offences were not sentenced to death, instead their wings are removed and they are ousted by society forever and are sent to live in closed encampments far from humanity. 



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're still on a lockdown here.. How about you guys? I hope y'all safe.


	31. The wailing Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan breaks down and so does Soonyoung

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're waiting for this update, I'm really sorry. Lockdown really dampened my spirit and I kinda lost the will to write.. But I think I'm back on track now
> 
> OH MY GOD!!! I JUST REALIZED THAT I COPY PASTED THE UNEDITED VERSION OF THIS CHAPTER.. THERE WERE SOME THINGS I CHANGED.. DAMN I FUCKED UP SO BAD AND I'M NOT EVEN HIGH

**Chan – Unidentified town – Beyond the three Realms**

_“Breathe in, breathe out”_ Chan thought to himself as he heard the loud sounds of varying drums and trumpets filled the air. To say that he was panicking was an understatement. He was having an internal turmoil were different voices battle inside his head, all discerning the height of his cowardness.

  
From afar he can hear people, their loud steps and hushed whispers brings more agitation to the middle grounder. He can feel his legs shake, knowing that if he were to stand up, he'll most likely slump to the ground in fear.

  
When the procession ended, Chan thought he'll finally had some semblance to relief, only to be filled with more dreading as momentary silence filled the place. The middle grounder can feel his stomach churn, the non-existing contents inside his abdomen about to rise up to his throat as he heard the towns people loudly mumbling the demonic sacrificial chant. 

  
“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm such a coward. I can't do anything to save you." 

  
Screams started resonating around the town square, and Chan tries to crouch even tighter. The girl was wailing, it sounded painful and maybe, if he blocks the noises better it will disappear. 

  
He will disappear.

  
Chan, even from a distance can hear the girl begging. There's desperation in her voice, a clear sign that she will do anything just for them to spare her life.

  
Hearing the girl made Chan feel even guiltier. With how the girl begs, she sounded like she still has many things to do. Her cries for help seem to tell the middle grounder that her life still holds many wonders that is bound to be discovered. While Chan feels like life has given up on him, the girl sounded like life is just starting for her.

  
“Plea-” The girls staggering voice was harshly shushed and Chan had to bite his lips so hard in order for his sobs to be tucked away. He can already taste his own blood, but honestly the emotional wreckage he was feeling exceeds the physical pain he is bringing to himself.

  
 _"Why am I such a coward?"_ Chan tugs a fistful of his hair. Everything was slowly blending in as one and the sounds inside his head were getting stronger and stronger.

  
 _"Why am I so useless?"_ The young middle grounder frantically opens his eyes and busted the metal door open. He couldnt breathe and his chest hurts. His little hiding place was way too small and big for him at the same time. He feels pain everywhere and he figures he might as well just end it all.

_“Why am I even born?”_ Scooting out of the door, just enough for the upper part of his body to come out. Chan numbly took out his dagger axe from the emblem on his right palm. With eyes void of any emotion, the middle grounder lifted the weapon. He started to align the weapon straight to his chest. However, before the middle grounder can even bring harm to himself, a loud explosion was heard.

  
Distracted, the young man slowly lowered his weapon as screams filled the air. Through the darkness, he can see fire. A fire so big it even requires life to continue burning. People were floundering everywhere, fearful that the fire might eat them alive as well. Some were running aimlessly, frantic eyes losing sight as to where they must go. The mass hysteria disturbing the once mum town got so out of hand to the point that the dark alley Chan was residing did not go undisrupted.

  
As the middle grounder sees a burning man running his way, Chan went back inside his hiding place and shuts himself in. Through the metal door, the young middle grounder can hear the man's anguished screams and burning flesh. It was awful and the young man now has an even stronger urge to puke.

  
Chan continued to hide as a series of explosions filled the town once more. He began to crouch once again into a tight ball as buildings started to crumble and ashes polluted the air. The middle grounder couldn't remember how long it took before the screaming stopped and the crashing of establishments ceased. He honestly thought it was never going to end. 

  
When the middle grounder failed to hear anything other than the soft crackling of fire nearby, Chan slowly crept out of his hiding place. He was speechless after seeing the aftermath of the destruction. Everything turned into ashes, black and depressing. Trying to make out the things around him beyond the smoke proved to be a hard thing to do. However, something caught his attention.

  
There was a purple glow not far from him. There were two to be exact, and when Chan tried to look closer, his heart seemed to stop.

Right in front of him is the girl he saw earlier. Her hair disheveled and dried tears obvious on her face. Her eyes were glowing purple and she's looking at him with so much intensity in her eyes as if asking Chan why did he not help her. The middle grounder can feel shivers running through his spine before an uncontrollable urge to sleep took him. 

  
The next thing he knows is he is waking up inside his little hiding place. Birds can be heard chirping and the busy mumbling of consumers and sellers filled his ears. The unmistakable smell of cooking bread wafts through the wind and Chan, has never been so confused his entire life.

  
 _Was it all just a nightmare? Did none of it happened?_ Chan slowly emerges out of his hiding place, he wants to spread his wings but it's too risky. Slowly walking to the sunlight, the middle grounder can feel his jaw dropping from the sight. The town looks fine, there were no burning buildings or screaming people. The sky is blue and free from any dark clouds.

  
“Hi, you look new." Chan heard a soft voice beside him the moment his feet touched the light. Turning to look at the stranger, the middle grounder immediately freezes.

  
“Uh, hi?” The girl once again asked, but Chan is left speechless. His thoughts left him nothing to utter as it starts to fill up with questions.

  
Brain running wild, a prominent question struck him. Just how? How in the realms is he talking to the same girl about to be sacrificed by the entirety of the town last night looking unscathed and healthy?

* * *

  
“Jeonghan hyung needs help.” Jihoon announced as he and Soonyoung looks for the others. They were on their way to meet Seokmin and Jisoo halfway while looking closely for their other missing friends when Jihoon felt the familiar chimes only Jeonghan can give off. The astral, still moving, tried to communicate with the other man as fast as he can.

  
“He's panicking. He says his injured and Seungcheol hyung is still unconscious.” Jihoon continued, stopping on his tracks as he starts to feel how distressed Jeonghan is becoming. Soonyoung is now looking at him. His face is pale, probably worrying for Chan. However, the other man looks even more worried as Jihoon relays what is currently happening to Jeonghan.

  
“A-and” Jihoon paused. He feels like his lungs just failed him. He slowly reached for Soonyoung, the contact finally letting him breathe.

  
“He also found Chan.” Jihoon breathlessly adds as he looks at Soonyoung straight on the eyes. The astral gazes at the man in front of him. Soonyoung is looking back at him, eyes widening as he tries to wrap everything that Jihoon said. His mouth is slack open and eyes starting to get watery. Jihoon did not waste a moment to wipe the few tears that fell off the other man's face.

  
“They found my brother.” Soonyoung finally spoke lowly. He sounded breathless and Jihoon wouldn't blame him.

  
As much as Jihoon feels for the middle grounder, he answered with urgency. “Yes Soonyoung, they found Chan. However, we need to hurry because Jeonghan hyung told me Chan is also unconscious and trapped inside a very narrow cave." 

* * *

  
Skimming through the forest as fast as the astrals wings would allow him, Jihoon who was carrying Soonyoung arrived with bated breaths. They were greeted by the image of Jeonghan leaning on a boulder, sporting a pair of bloody wings with a few nicks and scratches here and there. Seungcheol's head on was on the astrals lap. He was still unconscious and Jeonghan was continuously carding his fingers on the hair of the other man. The older astral thankfully was not panicking anymore, the explanation that Jihoon told him about the probable cause why the nether is still unconscious worked. 

  
“Hyung what happened?” Jihoon asked as he landed Soonyoung first on the ground. 

  
“Hyung where's Chan?” Soonyoung questioned as well.

  
“Don't mind me here, I can heal myself. You should first get Chan out of there.” Jeonghan smiles at them reassuringly while pointing on a small opening on what was actually a cave. 

  
“I have no idea how in the realms did he got there, hell I don't even know how we got here in the first place.” Jeonghan added, tiredness and exasperation mingling together in his voice. 

  
Soonyoung hurriedly walked to the small entrance of the cave, grimacing as he crouches down to look deeper into it. Jihoon from the side can see how narrow it looked and the astral couldn't help but wonder how can one fit through it.

  
“Hyung are you able to move?” Soonyoung asked Jeonghan wearily.

  
“I think so, Jihoon would you mind helping me?” the older astral answered. Jeonghan carefully lifted the unconscious nether on his lap with Jihoon and Soonyoung, who quickly made his way to the older astral and help.

  
“I'm sorry hyung. I know you're hurt, but I will need to break some parts of this cave to make a bigger opening so I can get Chan out of there.” Soonyoung suddenly said as he helps Jeonghan up his feet.

  
“You don't need to say sorry Soonyoung, I understand.” the astral replied with a bright smile. “However, you must be careful. Some of the rocks might fall at Chan and hurt him badly.”

  
Giving a reassuring smile to the oldest astral, Jihoon watches Soonyoung walk back to the opening of the cave. The middle grounder looks tired and obviously stressed. His shoulders are slumped and the bubbly smile that Jihoon was starting to get a hang with after a few days of travelling with him is gone. The bandages that he secretly replaced and tightened the midnight before is starting to get loose, and Jihoon is starting to get irked by it all. He watches as Soonyoung heaves a deep breath while closing his eyes, he watches as fatigue makes home on his features. He watched the middle grounder, looks at the exhausted man willing his body to procure his weapon. 

  
Soonyoung started breaking his way to his younger brother, he started to smash both of his spine like swords at the rocks but it looked like it wasn't budging, even a crack was not visible. Yet, Soonyoung continued, he never stopped hitting the cave, he never stopped even if all his efforts doesn't seem to bear any fruit. 

  
Soonyoung looked tired and pale, and Jihoon can see that if Soonyoung continues, he'll pass out. But Soonyoung is as stubborn as the rocks of the cave and Jihoon's chest hurts as he watches him.

  
Jihoon wanted to help, he couldn't bear watching the middle grounder do it all by himself. He slowly made his way to Soonyoung whilst summoning his weapons. Wielding his twelve daggers that was currently suspended in air, the astral aimed at the same spot Soonyoung was hitting.

  
“Jihoon” Soonyoung breathlessly called, looking at the astral with scrunched up brows.

  
“You don't have to do this. I know you're tired, you've used enough of your energy to find and communicate with the others. Don't mind me-”

  
“I want to help, and I'm not tired so don't stop me.” Jihoon curtly replied, eyes trained directly to the cave. He sounded stingy and Jihoon admits to it, however Soonyoung had seen him crumble into a handful of tears too many times and Jihoon has to keep the strong and stoic facade he's been wearing for a long time in order to keep his dignity. 

  
The two continued hitting the hard rocks that doesn't seem to budge at all, Jihoon can feel his whole body ache but refused to voicing it out. He looks at Soonyoung, the other is covered in sweat and breathing harshly. Jihoon can see the slight trembling of his limbs from overwork but only a tsk escaped the middle grounders lips. The astral can feel that it was only a few moments before Soonyoung's body gives up, what he didn't expect though is for it to happen after blinking his eyes.

  
“Soonyoung, I think you should sit for a while.” the astral comments as he helps Soonyoung to get back on his feet.

  
“No, I can't. I have to get Chan out, he needs me.” the middle grounder replied, obviously ignoring his aching body.

  
“But you're exhausted Soonyoung! You've used too much of your energy, you need to rest!” Jihoon answered with his voice raised, he is pissed and also worried and combining those emotions together only makes him antsy. So when Soonyoung looks at him, hurt lacing on his green orbs, Jihoon felt guilty. 

  
“But I can't. Not until I get Chan out of there.” the middle grounder calmly replies, his head bowed low and still struggling to stand up. There was a slight tremble in his voice and Jihoon can bet with his life that Soonyoung just shed a few tears.

  
Guilt starts eating the astral even more, he knows what it feels to worry for someone. Being unable to communicate with Seokmin for an hour or two was hell for him, but Soonyoung looks like he was on the verge of passing out and just the thought of it tugs Jihoon's heart in a hurtful way.

  
“Soonyoung!” Jihoon froze as he hears a familiar voice, he starts withdrawing his arms that he was about to wrap around the middle grounder. He badly wanted to hug him, comfort him like how Soonyoung did when he was hysterically searching for Seokmin. He wishes he can wrap his arms or run his palms on the man's face like before when they were alone, but he couldn't. Because people might think he's weak just like how they used to see him years ago.

  
Hastily moving aside, he lets Wonwoo wrap both of his arms around the middle grounder. Jihoon watches as Soonyoung tightly wrap his arms in return, burying his face in the crook of Wonwoo's neck.

  
“I'm sorry. I'm such-I'm such a worthless brother Won.” Jihoon hears Soonyoung's defeated mumbles muffled through Wonwoo's clothes.

“Hey, hey who told you that? You're such a good brother Soon, what do you mean worthless?” Jihoon can see Wonwoo rocking the middle grounder and Jihoon wished he can do the same thing.

  
Jihoon starts to slowly back away and sat next to Jeonghan. The older astral was quietly whispering things to the still unconscious nether, whom Jeonghan maneuvered in a sitting position and was now resting his head on the astrals chest. He can still hear Soonyoung mumble complains about himself at Wonwoo, but honestly the middle grounder doesn't need him now because the nether is there to give him warmer hugs and better comfort. So Jihoon ignored the image he's currently seeing and decided to close his eyes and talk to Seokmin instead.

  
_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * The weapon every noble possesses through their emblems holds a special connection with their past or even current lives. Soonyoung wields two massive swords made of bones and sharpen to perfection. From a different person’s point of view, it might look flashy and heavy. But flashy is what defines Soonyoung and the sword is not at all heavy if it was him that was using it. It was believed that Soonyoung, in his past life has killed a giant beast, probably a demon beast, to explain the existence of his loud weapons. It is one of the reasons why the people in the Middle Grounds are so enamored with him and why the young kids in their realms looks up to him so much. 




	32. The Purple Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan is confused while Seungcheol hears them again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Panic Attacks

_**Chan – Unidentified Town – Beyond the realms** _

“Thanks a lot.” Chan bashfully murmured his gratefulness to the smiling girl in front of him. Truly, the teen was very much thankful for the small morsel of bread handed to him that he didn’t even dared checking if the said bread was stale or not. The young man, coddled from infancy until the very moment he got separated from his brother, inhaled the food like it was air.

The bread was gone in a blink.

However, things didn’t start as comfortable as it is now between the two. Between the shrouded corners of a shady alley the two sat, one frigidly whilst the other, unknowing about the inner turmoil running inside the head of the frightened boy. Chan now might be choking on the stale bread he stuffed on his mouth without any thought for proper eating etiquettes, but earlier, he almost puked the remaining bile from his stomach. To be honest, he is still quite weary of the girl’s existence. What he saw and felt the day before did looked and sounded way too real for his wild imagination to conjure all by itself. All the pain, anguish, and self-loathing that coursed through him the night before felt too real to be just a very bad case of a nightmare. Yet, with a body almost out of fuel and a stomach ceaselessly growling, the middle grounder allowed hunger to overpower his curiosity just for a moment.

“Hey kid, if you don’t mind me asking, you’re new here, right?” with an awfully cheery voice, the girl asked the young man again as she holds out another piece of hard bread out of a small cloth pouch hidden under her tattered cloak. Her purple eyes sparkled softly under the clear blue sky as she looked at him with wonder.

Chan can only nod as he slowly drowns in the mesmerizing orbs of purple. There was something about them, something familiar but unknown at the same time. The girl’s eyes reminded him of everything and nothing, strangely filling a part of his chest that he didn’t knew was hollow at all. Looking at her was like finally finding something he lost, yet what was strange is that he didn’t even knew he lost something.

“So where did you come from?” the girl was now holding out a disfigured metal flask to Chan’s face. It contained some clear liquid, which the middle grounder thinks and pray for as water. With his mouth still full, Chan slowly reached for the flask. Seeing how the new kid was hesitating to grab the bottle from her hands, the girl shoved it to the other with a grin. Taking in a few sips to make sure that it really was water before chugging almost half of the contents of the flask, Chan was finally able to speak.

“I don’t know.”

“What? You don’t know? How?” the girl looked flabbergasted, frankly Chan would be shocked too if a lone man who doesn’t seem to look so disheveled walk around in town and don’t know where in the realms did he came from.

Slowly, anxiety started to creep inside the middle grounder. Finally remembering how he was suddenly separated from his brother and the thoughts that he might not see his family again, sent tremors to run through the young man’s body.

“Hey, hey, brother, calm down. You don’t have to think if you’re not feeling comfortable right now. Just try sitting still, alright? Calm your nerves and close your eyes.” The girl urged as her hands hover over the middle grounders shoulders ready to pat the other.

“I used to have panic attacks before, but an old friend used to tell me to calm myself if I feel like breaking down.” The girl continued as she crouches down to look straight at the middle grounder.

“He always told me to just close my eyes and take seven deep breaths then everything will be fine.” The girl finished with a bright smile and suddenly, Chan was able to breathe. All his fears and doubts melted into thin air instantly, he suddenly felt strong. The purple eyes fueling an unlit fire inside him.

“Oy rat! How long do you plan to crouch there? Old Shin has been looking for you for a while now.” A raspy voice a middle-aged man suddenly broke the comforting atmosphere that was wrapping the teens. Chan saw how the girl visibly tensed but then smiled in an instant as if nothing happened.

“Well guess I gotta go then. I’ll see you around?” the girl paused and looked at the middle grounder with a sheepish grin. That was the moment that Chan realized that he has been talking and even took food from someone yet never bothered to introduce himself. How rude and impolite of him, he thought.

“Chan. I’m Chan” the middle grounder answered bashfully.

* * *

_“Cheol? Cheol? Cheollie?”_

Choi Seungcheol, heir of the noble Choi’s, does not look back immediately. He usually makes sure that when anybody sees him, he still carries that noble air that only people like him possess. He doesn’t like to be seen as someone who is weak, he prides himself with his intimidating looks and does his very best to appear strong and reliable at all times. Even at a young age, Seungcheol has always managed himself to look intimidating. Young Seungcheol was a quiet cold child, he rarely plays with his cousins and would opt to read books in his study all by himself. At a young age the nether has been enriched with the thought that he should be prim, proper, and strong because he will one day be the head of the whole clan of Choi’s. Taking his parents advise with nothing but a pure heart and a naïve mind normal for a small young boy, Seungcheol was sure on his way to becoming the perfect and most generic example of a Nether Dweller.

However, everything changed when a boy of silver and lavender locks skipped his way to him.

It was the middle of the summer, in the year of the red lilies. Choi Seungcheol, a quiet, unsociable child, with a book on his hand, sat on his favorite spot in their garden.

Under the biggest Alis tree.

Sitting under a glowing tree made sense to the young boy. The entirety of the Nether Hollows is dark, the realm perpetually doused in the light of magical flames. What didn’t make sense however, was the bright smile of an unknown boy that suddenly called him.

With his snow-white wings flitting through the wind, the boy, who seemed to be about his age, skipped his way to him.

For the first time in his life, the young nether panicked.

Seungcheol felt like his heart is prancing inside his chest. It was dancing to a silent song and the young nether doesn’t know how to stop it. The young nether felt so strange that he somehow did not notice he stopped breathing unconsciously.

The young Seungcheol wanted to run.

The urge to hide from the unknown boy and the strange feeling inside his chest was overwhelming, however his body doesn’t move. It seemed like it was not only his lungs that seemed to have stopped working but also the rest of his limbs.

His body had betrayed him, he was frozen.

“Hello I’m Jeonghan” and Seungcheol wanted more than anything but to cry. There was something in the boys voice that felt familiar.

“Is there something wrong? Did I do something wrong?” the boy, who called himself as Jeonghan asked him, looking confused and genuinely worried. To be honest the worried look that the other boy gave did not ease his nerves but instead, it made his heart beat even faster.

“Hey are you alright? Do you need help? Please don’t cry?” hearing the last of the pleadings that came out of the other boy broke the nether from his trance like state. He immediately reached out to his cheeks and did found a few of his tears.

“I – I’m sso-”

“If you are planning to apologize, please don’t. It should be me who should apologize. I might have come too strong and scared you. I’m sorry.” Jeonghan said as he slowly crouched down to be in Seungcheol’s level.

“No – no, it w-was rude of me” Seungcheol can feel his heartbeat start to speed up once again but he tried to distract himself by taking in a huge gulp of air.

“I’m Seungcheol by the way” the young nether added timidly.

“Hmm, Seung-cheol. That’s a nice name.” the other boy said as he slowly rolled the nethers name through his tongue as if tasting it.

“Tha-thank you, Jeonghan sounds nice too.” The nether replied or more like murmured with his head bowed low.

Giggling the blond boy replied “No, your name sounds better.”

“It sounds sweet.”

“You look sweet.” 

“It suits you.”

“I like it.”

Once again, the nether was left speechless. No one has ever described him as sweet. None had even called him close to that word. Yet, being called like that produced a warm feeling inside him.

“Seungcheol, Seungcheol, Cheol, Cheollie.” Jeonghan continued to play with the nethers name and as Seungcheol listens, he founds that his heart has finally slowed down. Slowly lifting his head, he tried looking at the boy in front of him and was immediately mesmerized.

Jeonghan looked like he was glowing, his white feathers looked soft and fluffy unlike his. His silver hair looked like it had little gems shining on each strand and even if the other boy was looking sideways, Seungcheol can see how majestic his blue eyes were. Through that, Seungcheol realized something.

Jeonghan is ethereal.

Then everything turned dark, as if someone blew the torches out. Seungcheol couldn’t see anything so he tried calling to Jeonghan. The nether was never scared in the dark because he was born in it but the moment he realized that Jeonghan did not reply, fear crept inside him. Franticly calling for the other boy, the nether started to feel his surroundings. Expecting to feel the cold dew, forever perched atop the soft glowing blades of the grass, Seungcheol let out a gasp as he realized there was none of it but instead replaced by a cold floor.

“Cheol! Cheollie!” Seungcheol for the first time in his life has never looked back as fast as he had when he heard the worried voice of Jeonghan calling for him.

“Please don’t worry about me! Just run and don’t ever look back.” And there, a distance away, was Jeonghan. Held by two man covered in black. Their faces where covered by shadows and the only thing visible through the nethers eyes were the fear etched over the blond’s face.

“Ha! Don’t worry kid, we’ll catch your friend soon and you’ll be together. You pathetic, weak little nobles will never see the daylight.” And with that the men dragged the blond with them. Seungcheol wanted to run once again, he doesn’t intend to run away from Jeonghan but instead wanted to chase after him. However, his body seemed to have betrayed him once again. He couldn’t move, he was frozen.

Seungcheol tried calling to the other boy, but it was useless. He was too far and he was still in the dark. Jeonghan would never hear him nor see him. Feeling distraught, the nether sobbed hard as his knees slowly touched the cold floor. “Jeonghan” he softly called first, then continued calling the other as if his name was a mantra that will eventually bring the other back.

Then he heard them.

“It’s because of you that they were able to take him.”

“How pathetic, you only have two friends and you let one be taken away. Shows just how weak you are.”

“Ha! It seems like the Choi heir is nothing but a weak and spoiled brat who thinks too highly of himself.”

“I’m so sorry Jeonghan, sorry.” Seungcheol can only apologize as he let the nasty voices fill his head. He sobs harder as he absorbs each word, feeling more wretched as time pass.

“I’m sorry Jeonghan”

_“Please don’t be Seungcheol.”_ The nether perked up as he heard a familiar yet unfamiliar voice.

“Jeonghan? Is that you? I’m sorry!” Seungcheol abruptly got up and started to look around.

_“Oh Seungcheol, you silly man. How many times do I have to tell you it was not your fault? It was never your fault Cheollie. Please believe me.”_ And the nether cried harder as he heard the somehow matured yet soft voice of the other.

“But it was! Oh Jeonghan! Please forgive me!”

_“There is nothing to forgive Cheollie, you did no wrong”_ Jeonghan continued denying his sins.

“But I did, I let them hurt you because I was weak!”

_“You are never weak Choi Seungcheol. You’re one of the strongest man I’ve ever knew.”_ Jeonghan was too good to him and he does not deserve him.

“I’m sorry Jeonghan.”

Seungcheol heard an unmistakable sigh before the other finally said, _“Then if you really want me to forgive you, please open your eyes for me Seungcheol. Open your eyes for me please.”_

Seungcheol did not speak for he was utterly confused. How was he supposed to open his eyes when they were never close to begin with?

_“Open your eyes for me Cheollie. Please open them up for me.”_ Seungcheol can hear the quiver on the others voice and it made his heart drop. It stirred something inside him and it didn’t feel good unlike the first time. With his inner turmoil slowly building up, the nether decided to calm himself by closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath.

As the nether slowly opened his eyes though, blinding light slowly filled his vision. Then, he heard a gasp and the next thing he sees is Jeonghan’s face hovering above him.

_“Oh Cheollie! You’re finally awake! Thank God he brought you back to me!”_ the blond exclaimed as Seungcheol feels the astrals tears fall on his cheeks.

_**Map of the Three Realms** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright!! So let me start this a/n by a big fat apology. I'm sorry.. if you happened to be waiting for this update( assuming that there are still people who's gonna read this) I really apologize. I did not wish to not update. I just woke up one day and looked for hours on the draft of this chapter and find nothing fits. I lost my steam and it took me time to get it back. I probably got bummed by the quarantine but I don't really know. I'll try my hardest to make up for my inconsistencies so please be patient with me. ALSO your comments made me really happy!! they may not be a lot, but they still keep me going.. Thank you so much..
> 
> Now on to another thing.. as you can see there is a shitty map up there. That is the official map of the three realms for this AU. I made it myself, that's why it looks like a shitshow. I'm not an artist or whatever you call those people who make fancy artworks. I'm just a highschool teacher who can't draw anything to save my life. It actually stunned me when I realize that I was able to make something like this through paint 3d on my crappy and forever lagging laptop. If someone happens to see the sorry state of this map and actually knows how to make one AND is willing to make this map 10000x better PLEASE BE MY GUEST.. Anyways I hope this update is decent for ya'll.. Stay safe, wear your masks and stay healthy. COVID19 is NOT A HOAX!!


	33. The Brave One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan panics, but through the hazy fog of fear slowly immerges a new him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Waring: panic attacks
> 
> This is solely Chan's POV because as much as I love our maknae, the FUTURE OF KPOP( let me put that on caps so that even the people at the back can see), his arc is getting way toooooo long(it's my fault) and I don't really want to end this fic with 300+ chapters. Like seriously, I haven't even gone past 1/4 of the fic. So let's focus on Chan for this chapter okay??

_**Chan – Unidentified Town – Beyond the realms** _

“Oy Minah! We don’t have all day to stall here, unless you want Old Shin to drag you by your hair himself.” Chan saw how the girl, who he now finally knows as Minah, stiffened once more. It was quick, gone by a blink and was immediately replaced by a tight-lipped smile. However, Chan knew what the burly man said was not a threat by any means. It was a statement, one filled with normalcy, as if it was akin to a daily chore done through muscle memory, as if it was like breathing. 

  
“I'll look for you later.” Minah grins at him, and as fast as how the fear that marred her face at the mere mention of a man named Old Shin faded, Minah hastily strutted her way to the burly man and walked away.

“I'll look for you later.” Chan quietly mumbles the words again to himself, there was warmth starting to bubble inside his chest. It was nostalgic, and hearing himself say it left a strange taste on his tongue. It was sweet like the small droplets of nectar from the flowers that he used to nimble with his Soonyoung hyung during spring, yet sour like the tangiest tartlelest at winter that his Junhui hyung tricked him to eating. Excitement flowed unto him, coursing through his veins and travelling all throughout his body, but with the giddiness that came from a simple promise of a newfound friend comes the feeling of dread that the middle grounder couldnt point the source of.

Mumbling the words once again as if he was making sure that he wasn’t making things up, the middle grounder finally stood up and dusted his trousers. There was a dull ache on his back that travels all the way to his wings but he ignores it. The small discomfort was just probably because he hasn’t used or even stretched his wings since arriving in the strange town. Looking up and beyond the ratty tapestries used as makeshift roofs, the middle grounder heaved a sigh. The sky was clear, blue, and cloudless just like yesterday and just like the subtle pain on his back, the middle grounder finally concluded that all the gore and screaming that he saw was nothing but a figment of his imagination. Just a dream, a bad, bad, bad case of a dream that was caused by the fear of being separated from his brother, hunger, and fatigue from aimlessly walking around an unfamiliar town.

After his new found conclusion, the middle grounder finally took his first step out of the dark moldy alley. Chan couldn’t help but adjust the hood of his cape to avoid the sun, for as much as he loves the warmth, the rays of light that the sun was giving off was scorching. It was no wonder why he had those delusional thoughts at the end of the day. Hissing for a bit, the young man steps back. There was another realization the came to him. 

He didn’t know what to do. 

He had no goal, no mission, and at the end of the day he’ll comeback in this same bleak and cold alleyway still unknown of miles away from his brother and friends. Slumping once again at a corner, the young man closes his eyes to think.

_“Pathetic”_

Chan gasps and immediately opens his eyes. The feeling of dread starts creeping inside of him once more. He can feel his chest constricting and his head feeling light, there is also the strong urge to cry.

Then the middle grounder remembers. He recalls how his older brother, pressured by the weight of being the heir even at a young age has always smiled. He knows people talk about them. They talk about his hyung, they talk about his parents, and they talk about him. He knows because he’s heard them a handful of times. Most of them say good things about them, but there were some who didn’t. The good things were always for his parents, but Chan thought some of them were not even true. He told his hyung about it once but Soonyoung told him that a complement is a complement whether it be true or not, and as a noble they should learn to gracefully accept it. What was important is they know who was sincere and who wasn’t. Chan didn’t understand it first, he was only ten blue moons old when he told his hyung about it. And frankly his hyung’s choice of words was a little bit questionable. Grace was not a word usually associated with middle grounders. Their race came mostly from hunters. They are agile as they are rough and grace doesn’t really fit their image as they jump on Mamant boars covered in mud. He was twelve when he finally heard the awful things people say about them, half of them were for his parents and the other were for them. It was mostly for his hyung, how they doubt him and his abilities. It was hard for Chan to stomach it at first, his hyung, bright, loud, and fun hyung was being looked down upon. It didn’t sit well with him so he ran to his hyung with his eyes welling up and told him everything he heard. Yet, his Soonyoung hyung only smiled at him and patted his head. There was no anger on his face nor his voice. There were no tears trying to fall and not an ounce of pain can be seen on his face. His hyung hugged him tight as he told him that the world is not perfect and as much as it was normal to be upset, he has to learn to be brave and use the criticisms as a weapon to prove them wrong. So, with another bout of deep breaths, Chan decides even through his fear-stricken brain that he has to keep himself together. 

He has to be brave.

  
  
Closing his eyes once again, Chan hears his head scream at how pathetic and useless he is once more. He grimaces a little, but he did his best to seek his older brothers voice deep within his mind to relax himself. 

_“Chan makes hyung really proud! He’s already good with his sword and is way smarter than hyung!”_

_“Channie, you need not to listen to what others say. You will always be the best! Father, mother and hyung will always be with you so you can always be the best!”_

The middle grounder smiles a little, he can feel his breathing slowly going back to normal, his heart calming back to its normal beats.

_“Oh Channie, it is not a sin to hesitate my love, for fear is always etched in every mans heart. What is not right however, is when you let that fear and hesitation eat you up. Always remember Channie, my little jaguar, that the Mighty One is always with us. Rest your heart, mind, and soul to him and he shall seize all your problems away.”_

The young man nods to himself as he hears his mothers voice.

_“Chan, son. I know you are upset, but let me tell you that it is alright. A mans greatness is not measured by how good he holds his sword or how many enemies he can take down, a mans greatness can be seen through his heart. A calm, kind, and compassionate man is the true form of greatness, that is why the Mighty One is the greatest of them all.”_

Chan finally opens his eyes, his father’s words still ringing in his head. His heart has finally calmed down and his breathing, normal. There is still a trace of fear in him, but just like what his mother told him before, fear will always be there. He just needs to fight it off. With a clearer mind and a lighter heart, Chan finally makes a plan. A plan solely made by him, one without the help of his parents or his hyung, one that he can finally call as his own. It was simple, and small if it has a size. However, to the young man, it was enough. He hesitated a little about it at first, but since his hyung once told him that he believes in him. It was more than enough to push the middle grounder through.

* * *

  
The sun is high up in the sky when Chan finally slumps his exhausted self on a park bench. He’s sweating worth a bucket and a tad bit hungry, although it isn’t as bad as it was yesterday. He was able to have his fill of water on a drinking fountain in the middle of a rather strangely empty park so he was feeling fine. However, the strange stillness and quietness of the park gave the middle grounder mixed feelings. He was thankful for the peace and quiet, but it was unnerving for him that a park of all places was empty. If it were a gloomy day, the young man might have considered the absence of any visitor. But in a bright sunny day like this, the lack of birds or even small critters made the young middle grounder wonder more.

“Come on now girl, don’t make this hard for all of us” Chan perked up on his seat as he hears a gruffy voice of a man. The middle grounder swiftly ducks under a shrub as he slowly crawls his way to where he thinks the voice is coming from. As Chan carefully creeps his way, he can hear an unmistakable whimper of a girl. Chan feels disgusted, this man was planning something on a lady, a young lady if his intuition was correct.

“Older brother Kim is right, we can all spare ourselves from all these worthless chase and get back to work if you just come with us.” A second voice butted in and Chan feels even more repulsed by the idea of two full grown men ganging over a young defenseless lady.

“Yes! to you this is worthless!” Chan almost chokes, the voice sounded familiar.

“But to me this is a matter of life and death!” the middle grounder, nervous, stills on his tracks. 

“Minah, don’t act like you don’t know how things work here.” Chan, still shocked to his core, deemed that his position was safe enough to take a peek. Although he was dreading the possibility of his new friend being in danger, the middle grounder couldn’t take the thought of abandoning the very person who helped him anchor his frenzied thoughts in the early morning.

“It was all fun and games when you’re just washing your hands and watching in the sidelines right?” the middle grounder saw nothing but burly backs as he finally peeks to where the voices are coming from. There are only two men, but they are large enough to cover the person they are cornering. 

“But Minah, you should have known that your time will come. No matter how much you try to delay it, it’s still gonna haunt you down.” With a snicker, one of the men slowly walks his way to their victim.

“There’s a new one, I can get him for you! Tell Old Shin I can get him for you! He looks pretty naïve! I’m sure it won’t be hard for me to lure him in! Please!” Chan had to cover his mouth to prevent the possibly very audible gasp to escape his mouth. Cowering in front of the two men, disheveled and tear-filled, is Minah. Desperation clearly seen on her face as she tries to push herself on the thick tree trunk she was leaning on. 

“Minah, did you not hear what younger brother Nam said? and if what you said is true, I believe it won’t be that hard for us to hunt that new blood down.” Chan became extremely anxious as the other man started to also make his way to Minah. He couldnt understand what they were talking about from all the nerves he is feeling but all he knows is that he had to save his friend.

With little to no thought at all, the middle grounder gathered all his strength in summoning his dagger-axe out and slamming his way to the unknowing men. Using the bladeless tip of his weapon, Chan slammed it on the head of both men. The middle grounder then swiftly grabs Minah’s wrist and drags her in for a breath-taking run.

_**Facts about the Fic:** _

  * Tartlelest - imagine a tangerine but yellow. Tartlelest trees usually bear fruits during winter, although these trees bear fruit abundantly in almost every astral garden. Tartlelest trees are acclimated to cold weather, that is why their fruits are only seen by middle grounders and some nether dwellers who happened to travel to the middle grounds during the winter. Tartlelest are not actually grown for its fruits but for the purpose of decoration. Alis trees, known to dominate the nether realms for its glowing leaves shares the same genus with the Tartlelest. However, Tartlelest are obviously dimmer. They also share some features with Chros trees with how the color of its leaves vary in different colors.
  * Mamant Boars – they look like wild boars but bigger, like the hippo kind of big. They are very aggressive thus making them highly dangerous, but middle grounders love showing their hunting prowess thus why they organize an annual mamant boar hunts every year. (Note: They make sure that there are little to no casualties to make it safe for the participants and also marks only one target to make sure that the population of mamant boars do not decline.) 



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I've received such nice comments in the previous chapter and I just want to thank those people who spent their time writing them as well as apologize if it took me years to reply. I've just actually recently read it. To those people who left me kudos thank you as well. I really appreciate everything.. THANKS A LOT❤


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